The Ties That Bind
by Bobadoo
Summary: They found her in the forest beaten, tortured, near dead. When she turns out to be the Deputy's sister, things get complicated.
1. Discoveries

**Hello fanfictioners!** This is my first SOA story. A little warning, my beginnings might be a little slow but once I really get into it, the stories do get interesting so please hang on for dear life, it will be worth it! Have a nice day!

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**Chapter One: Discoveries**

Clay hated it when he got a personal phone call from Unser. It usually meant someone was going to be heading to prison sometime in the near future, whether it was because of their own stupidity or the feds were snooping around again. Someone always ended up in that orange jumpsuit and he was getting sick of his $1200 an hour lawyer. However this phone call had been different. He did not always like different and this one was no exception.

Unser, doing God knows what outside of Charming, had seen the Mayans pull into some dirt road. It had been two bikes and an SUV. The road led nowhere, just to some lake where teenagers liked to make out on the weekend, not exactly a biker hotspot. It was only a couple miles away, too close for comfort to him and, hopefully, to the Sons. While Clay thought the old man was just seeing things, smoking too many of his pain killers, he decided that it was worth looking into, if only to get the Chief to shut up.

Jax had seen her first. She was bound by her wrists, hanging from a tree branch, stripped down to her undergarments. Blood ran down from where it not only looked like she had been whipped, but cut and beaten as well. Her body was shivering from the cold. They had no idea how long she had been out there.

He had begun to cut her down when she woke up, screaming for him to stop, thinking he was going to hurt her again. After several minutes of assuring her that he was not going to do anything, Jax got her to calm down, cutting her from the branch and lowering her slowly to the ground. Her clothes were nowhere to be found. Jax took off his sweatshirt and put it on her, holding onto her until Tig came back with the van.

The hospital had a lot of questions, probably more than they would for others but four bikers showing up in the emergency room with a beaten, now unconscious woman was not exactly normal. The police were called in, which they were assured by the staff that it was standard. Maybe it was, but not ten minutes after they walk through the door. This brought their biggest fan in. He looked ready to finally get what he wanted, an arrest and charge that would stick.

Jax shook his head. "I'll tell him."

He approached Deputy Chief Hale, watching a small smirk grow on the man's face. If only he knew.

"What happened this time? Tig get carried away with one of your entourage?" Jax sighed. Of course he would think that. It was not a stretch of the imagination but nowhere near the truth.

"Look," he started. "I know you're looking forward to arresting a Son, but that's not going to happen tonight. We were just out for a drive when we found her on the side of the road beaten half to death."

The smirk remained. "We'll just have to see if her story corroborates yours." He began to walk away when Jax grabbed his arm.

"There's more to it."

The others, Clay, Tig and Bobby, watched as the smirk vanished from Hale's face, and his skin paled. He took a step back to keep himself from falling, searching the ground in confusion for a moment before running after a nurse he had spoken to only moments before.

"He knows." Clay observed, watching Hale disappear down a hallway. "Poor bastard." The other two nodded, feeling sorry for the man that would do anything to put them all away. No one deserved to have this happen to them.

Jax returned. "He assumed it was Tig's doing." Despite the situation, a few smiles broke out.

"Of course he did." Tig said, raising his hands up in defeat, somehow insulted.

"You've admitted a dead body's given you a hard-on, why wouldn't he?" Clay asked, not believing he just said that out loud.

"That's beside the point. I would never do _that _to a woman." Tig replied, pointing in the direction Hale had run.

"Doesn't matter if you'd do it or not," Bobby interjected. "The fact is he thought you did it, and still might. You'd better watch out. He might actually take off the badge for this one."

Tig sighed. "That's fantastic."

The sliding doors to the emergency room opened and in stepped the man that started them down this path, Chief Unser. He walked over to the group, a little surprised by their lack of company.

"Where's Hale?" He asked, "I thought he would have been grilling you by now."

Clay folded his arms. "He would have except he had to look in on his sister."

"His sister? You mean…that's who they called in for?" Nods. "Jesus Christ…what would they do that to her for?"

"We didn't see any Mayans at the site, or any evidence of them. Are you sure it was them you saw?" Jax asked.

"Look, when I see a patch that says 'Mayans,' I'm not going to second guess it." There were more sighs and nods.

"Give Hale our condolences." Clay said, "And tell him we're going to be looking into this. I'm sure he wouldn't mind our 'vigilante justice' now."

They watched Unser vanish as well before heading out of the hospital, gathering around the van, witnessing the arrival of more police vehicles. It was the event of the century apparently.

"Seems a little sloppy, even for the Mayans." Bobby said, breaking the silence.

"I agree." Jax added. "Even if they were stupid enough to pull off something like this so close to Charming, they would have made sure no one could identify them. The last thing they need is to be on the feds' radar."

"You think it could be some kind of setup?" Tig asked.

"Maybe."

Clay was silent for a while, thinking. That girl, Katherine Hale, was no stranger to the Sons. Gemma had babysat her a couple times, bringing her to the garage where she would hand tools to the mechanics and help out in other ways. Both he and John had given into the old lady more than once, picking up the little girl from school when her parents were busy and her brothers had conveniently forgotten her. And while her brothers had grown up to look at the Sons in a different light, she had not, often helping Gemma set up for the carnival and giving a friendly hello to any of the guys when she ran across them. She was by no means a close friend of the club but she was not the enemy either, which was enough for him.

"That doesn't give them a free pass." Clay said, breaking the silence that had fallen. "We'll wait for the feds to smoke'em, see if it gives us anything. Meanwhile we're gonna have to wait for the investigation to start, get Unser to give us the details. Ask around too. There's bound to be someone paranoid out there that saw something." He paused. "We'll meet in the Chapel tomorrow. Everyone needs to be in on this. No one gets away with this shit, not in this town and not with someone we know."

. . .

The lights hurt her eyes, only adding to the pounding pain in her head. She looked around the room, unfamiliar with the white walls and random pieces of artwork. When she spotted the equipment it suddenly felt like a scene out of a movie. She had to be dreaming. There was no reason for her to be in a hospital.

Katherine tried to sit up but her body refused to move, every muscle sore, her arms, legs, back, everything. Her head screamed at the attempt as well, pounding harder than before. She had to close her eyes again in order to keep from getting sick. Her hand moved to her head, searching out the source of the pain. It was wrapped under a bandage but even through the layers she could feel the bump that had formed.

She opened her eyes and looked at her arm for a moment, noting the IV that was attached to her; she finally noticed the beeping in the background that went along with the beats of her heart. There was a small bracelet on her wrist stating any vital information about her and she even had on that ugly gown that hospitals loved to hand out. This was no dream; this was reality.

Closing her eyes again, she tried to fight back the tears. How did she end up here? This made no sense. The last thing she could remember was pulling up to a gas station and mumbling to herself about how the price had gone up ten cents since she first came a few hours before. Then a car pulled up to the pump behind her, nothing unusual. The door opened and out stepped a man covered in tattoos, wearing a leather jacket with some kind of logo on the back, nothing she had not seen before. Two motorcycles pulled up, idling by on the side, probably waiting for the car. She remembered them staring at her and being creeped out by it. Then there were the footsteps behind her, the chill down her spine, the feeling of inevitability. She had turned around, not knowing what else to do, when all went black.

"Oh God…" Katherine whispered, her mind beginning to wander. She had heard these stories before, the news, television, movies, they all had the storyline now and again. Young women being kidnapped, assaulted, murdered, raped. The last word brought the sinking feeling, the disgusted, horrified feeling. Had she been…could they have? She did not know, could not remember. The pain in her head was too much. She did not want to remember; she wanted to wake up and start over.

Katherine could hear the footsteps echo down the hallway, heels. She urged herself to relax, loosening her white-knuckled grip on the sheets. There was no need to panic, not yet. No one had told her anything; no one needed to see her this way.

A figure holding flowers passed by the window, entering the room soon after. Katherine could not help but smile, if only slightly, as the Tiger Lilies were set on a table near her, forcing away the feelings for now. Gemma Teller had not forgotten her favorite flower. She watched as Gemma grabbed a chair and pulled it forward, taking care not to make too much noise; she sat down and looked at Katherine, trying to smile but knowing it all could be seen through. Katherine sighed. It was that bad.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?"

Paranoid and on the verge of breaking down did not seem to be the best conversation starter, so Katherine opted for the obvious. "My head hurts."

"Oh, I bet it does." Gemma began to stroke her head, avoiding the bandaged area.

"I tried to sit up but it just makes me sick."

Gemma's smile was now genuine. "I've got just the thing." She pressed one of the buttons on the rails, half of the bed slowly lifting her up into the sitting position. "How's that?" Katherine nodded, watching Gemma look across the room. "All of that noise and he still doesn't wake up. He must have been up most of the night." She followed her gaze, eyes landing on her brother asleep in a chair in the corner of the room, uniform still on. She had not even noticed he was there. "Tell me something, does he ever take that off?"

Katherine's smile grew. "Only when he's sure no one's looking." She turned back to Gemma, whose smile had faded, making hers go as well. It was a shame, she liked the feeling.

"You poor thing, come back from college and this is how your hometown greets you."

She tried to bring the smile back, failing. "Guess I was gone a little too long."

Gemma was silent for a while, watching Katherine, who had grown up to be a beautiful woman but now all she could see was a little girl in need of help. "I remember the first time I watched you. You were four and you were the most stubborn girl I had ever seen." She watched as the corners of Katherine's mouth began to lift. "Your mother drove to the garage and went around asking for me. Turns out your brother Jacob had gotten himself in trouble at school."

"Jacob?"

"Yeah, that's right." Gemma replied, head motioning toward Hale. "Big brother over there is still flawless for all I know." She paused waiting for Katherine's soft laughter to subside. Clearly there was something she did not know. "The babysitter had quit early on her, and you were in no mood to cooperate. Bringing you to that school would just be asking for trouble, so she thought of us. John had always entertained you, listing off each of the tools before using them. Apparently your favorite was the 'stewdiver.'" Her laughter was louder now.

"Anyway, she wondered if it would be okay if we kept an eye on you for a little while. John was not around but I assured her it would be fine, and it was for a while. You had taken to banging a wrench on one of the trash cans until Jackson came out." Katherine bit her bottom lip, waiting for the rest of the story. "He was home early from a field trip, wandering around the lot trying to get his yo-yo to work. You…you followed him the rest of the afternoon like a stray puppy. He would run; you would run. He would stop and try to scare you off and you would come creeping back." The two shared a moment of laughter together, even if it did hurt to move. At the moment she could bear any pain.

Gemma sighed. "I wished I had my camera, but I had vowed off the thing, started racking up bills." She paused, debating whether or not she should share the next piece of information. "He found you, Katherine."

"Who found me?"

"Jackson." Katherine nodded, looking down, not wanting to face reality again. "He says he's fine but a mother knows better. He's pretty shaken up by it."

"Makes me wonder what I'd see if I looked in a mirror."

Gemma grabbed her hand, making Katherine look at her. "Nothing time and a little makeup won't get rid of."

She did even bother trying to smile this time. "Right."

They sat in silence for a moment. "Do you remember anything?"

Katherine shook her head. "Nothing from the attack, no. Guess that's probably a good thing, huh, seeing how painful my body feels and how you keep looking at me like that, eyes full of pity. I don't want to know what made me this way; I just want to know when I'm going to get out of here. Hospitals make me paranoid."

"I know that feeling." Gemma said, standing up. "But don't worry, you'll be gone before you know it, driving the boys in town insane as usual." She leaned down and kissed Katherine on the forehead. "Get some rest." She headed to the door, taking a quick glance at the sleeping Hale.

"I know why you're here." Katherine said, causing Gemma to turn around. "I…I don't mean it in a bad way; I know you do feel bad about what happened to me but I also know you were here for something. I'm glad that you were, it makes me feel safe." She paused. "I was at this gas station a few miles down the highway. Beat up place, only thing around. It shouldn't be too hard to find. It's the last place I remember being at."

Gemma smiled. "Thank you, Kat." Katherine returned the gesture, watching the woman leave. She looked down, beginning to pick at her nails, noting the bruising on her wrists, holding inside whatever it was that wanted to be let out. She glanced over at her brother, still in the same position with his head against his fist.

"How much did you hear?" She watched a small smile cross his face. Hale looked up at her and she could tell he was trying to see past what they had done to his little sister, and that it was barely working.

"I came to at 'stewdiver.'" He stood up and walked over, stopping at the railing.

"Why didn't you stop her?"

"Why would you think that I-˝ Katherine gave him a look. Hale smiled again. "She made you laugh. I was afraid I might not hear it again for a while."

"And what about the other part?"

Hale sighed. "I think that…you were in too much shock to talk about it today, maybe tomorrow will be better." He paused, seeing the surprised look on his sister's face. "I may not like them but what the justice system would do to the guys, I don't think it's good enough. They're getting a head start, that's all." Katherine nodded. Just a little white lie, even that she once thought he was not capable of when it came to his job. This was starting to scare her more.

She looked up at him again, seeing all of the concern and pain that he could no longer hide. She smiled slightly, patting an open spot on the bed. The thing was enormous and made her feel tinier than she already was. There would be plenty of room.

Her brother slowly crawled onto the bed, making sure that there were no lines that he might pull out. Resting on his side, he wrapped his little sister in his arms, kissing her on the forehead as well and closing his eyes to keep the tear flow to a minimum. She felt safe again, felt untouchable. Katherine closed her eyes, willing to fall asleep like this. A tear or two escaped but that was all. There would be more, it would escape. This was nowhere near over.

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Ta-dah!


	2. Homecoming

**Hello again!** Thanks to everyone for the great reviews! They've inspired me which is why this next chapter is up so soon. Yes, I do have a tendency of taking a bit. I apologize ahead of time for that. Finally got to finish season two. Devastated does not begin to cover how I feel, but enough about me.

This is Katherine getting her little moment with Jax. Hope you like it. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Two: Homecoming**

Tig stood outside what he could only assume was the last place that Katherine had seen. Beat up hardly covered what this place looked like. Rust everywhere and trash, looked like it had been broken into more than once but never had the money to repair the damages. She was right about it being the only thing around. If one was desperate, they would have to stop here, though it could be assumed that some would have just kept going.

Holding back his comments on Katherine's judgment, he walked inside. It was a small store, somewhat nicer than the outside but hardly worthy of being called clean. A couple of pop machines, a chip and magazine rack were all it really contained. The counter took up most of the space. The man behind it looked like some shaky teenager, whose trembles only increased when he took notice of the biker.

"Can…can I help you?"

Tig leaned on the counter. "You guys have security cameras?" The thought of the place having something resembling technology was a funny one, but apparently not unrealistic.

"Yeah…we do…one. Why?"

"I'm gonna have to look at a video from a couple nights ago, the fifteenth."

He could have sworn that the boy stood up a little straighter, got a little more confident. "You have a warrant?" he asked, almost laughing.

Tig did not laugh, nor did he even crack a smile. He simply waited until the boy was done before stepping back from the counter, pulling out his gun, pretending to clean it while looking at the ground. Looking back up, he could see the situation had taken a turn for the worse for the boy, whose shaking had resumed. "Do you think I need one?"

A shaky arm was raised, pointing toward a short hallway. "It's…it's in the…backroom."

"After you." The boy did not move. Tig leveled the gun at his chest. "Now." He watched the now convinced boy as he practically ran down the hallway, making sure he was never out of sight. The last thing he needed was for the kid to actually be smart and call the cops on him. Unser having to question him about this later, fine, but getting arrested at the scene was not exactly going to play out well.

The boy put the tape in, watching the video play on a television set that looked too old to be able to hook up to anything except the wall. He tried to get out of the room in a not so subtle manner. Tig quickly grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him into a corner on the ground. Playing with the buttons on the VCR, Tig finally found what he believed he was looking for. He watched as a young woman, very similar to Katherine, exited her vehicle, filling it up at the pump. In came the SUV that Unser had been referring to, then the two motorcycles. The driver of the SUV walked out and proceeded to knock Katherine out cold, dragging her to the vehicle while a passenger hopped out and took control of her car.

Tig looked down at the boy. "Were you working that night?" Silence. The gun pointed at him again. "Were you?!"

"Yes! Yes, I was." His voice was getting shakier by the second. Soon enough his words would be unintelligible.

"Come here." Tig grabbed him by the shoulders again, pulling him up and nearly smashing his face into the television. He rewound the footage and played it again for the boy. "You see that! Tell me how you could miss that!"

The boy watched the footage, dumbfounded, mouth agape. "I…I…I don't."

Tig shoved him aside, smashing him into the wall. "I'll tell you how!" He grabbed one of his arms, pulling up the sleeve past his elbow, exposing the pale skin beneath, tracks evident on every vein. "Because you were too busy getting high! You're lucky she didn't die!" He pressed the gun into the boy's left temple.

"Oh God, please don't!" He begged, crying. "Please…please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry she got hurt…I'm trying…I'm trying to quit. Please, please don't shoot me, oh God please don't shoot me." His pleas carried on for a few minutes before Tig pulled the gun quickly and whipped him across the head with it, knocking the boy out cold. Leaving him where he fell, Tig grabbed the tape from the player, as well as the one that was recording currently. He proceeded to exit the station, grabbing a bag a chips before he did so.

. . .

A few days had passed by. Several tests had been run on her, so many it had become a routine to wake up and get stuck with a needle. Fortunately everything so far had come back negative, which was a relief. Doctors also told her there was no evidence of rape, which only added to the good feeling.

When she finally was able to get up out of bed and take a good look at herself in the bathroom mirror, however, the good feelings vanished. Her faced had been severely beaten but it was said that her bruises were healing faster than they would have thought. It would still be a week or so before the evidence there was completely gone. A cut on her lip was still puffy, making even the simplest moves such as smiling painful at times. Sick of the bandage on her head, she had taken it off, seeing the rather large and gruesome abrasion, from being knocked out she was certain. Her hair did a decent job of hiding it, though it was still obvious to anyone that saw her but at least they did not get the full extent of the damage.

It was when she took off her gown that the full weight of the situation hit her. From her shoulder to her waist, her skin was an unnatural color. There were cuts everywhere, cleaned up and stitched but more disgusting than they must have been when first inflicted. She touched one lightly, still feeling the pain from it. She thought that some kind of memory would pop up, a feeling or a noise like what happened in the movies but all she saw was the present, her memory still black. Her mind did not want to remember. What had they done to her?

Katherine put on some clothes that Hale had brought her, a few that she had left at the house. It took her maybe twenty minutes to get a shirt on, nearly biting her tongue off as she struggled not to scream at the pain. There was a jacket too but she opted against it. Pushing her shoulder blades together was not a good idea anymore. At least the pants were easy to put on. She found herself wandering the hallways aimlessly, her jacket and a sweatshirt slung over one of her arms. She assumed it belonged to Jax, if Gemma's story was correct.

Eventually she believed herself to be completely lost, surprised that the staff had not stopped her at some point. There was no way that all of the areas she had walked through were open to the public. Walking down one last hallway before she called it quits, Katherine came upon a window. Curious, she glanced inside, finding a very small baby in an incubator and a figure that she could only assume was the father, his patch and long hair very familiar.

Smiling, she tapped on the glass lightly. Jax turned around, clearly looking surprised at who was watching him from the other side. He stood quickly, walking outside and embracing Katherine in a gentle hug, taking care not to touch her back too much. Gemma must have been right. Her brother would not have even known how bad it was if the doctors had not told him because of the investigation.

"I didn't expect to see you out so soon." Jax said, stepping back. "You look good."

Katherine laughed. "That's because I have about an inch of makeup on but I'll take what I can get." She looked down at the contents in her arms. "I, uh…I have your sweatshirt. I'm assuming those stains are blood…uh, maybe you won't want this after all."

She noticed something different about him when he looked at the piece of clothing. Hesitation maybe, or avoidance.

"_He says he's fine but a mother knows better. He's pretty shaken up by it." _Gemma's words rang through the hallways, settling in the atmosphere, making it heavier.

He still reached out for it. "It's okay. I'll take it."

"Are you sure? I could wash it for you or something."

"So I can walk around smelling like lavender? No thank you." They both laughed as the sweatshirt was exchanged. Some small part of her was wondering how genuine that laugh of his was. Jackson Teller had never had the best poker face in the world but he had improved since she last saw him.

Wanting to change the subject, she looked back at the window. "What's his name?"

"Abel." He almost sounded relieved.

"That's a good name." She paused. "Are you married?"

"No…no, I'm divorced." Jax walked closer to the window. "This little guy is the result of attempting to reconcile with Wendy."

"Wendy? That waitress you had met just before I left?"

"The very same." Katherine smiled. "What?"

"I could have told you it wouldn't have worked out. I could have seen it from a mile away." She had just become a teenager when his high school sweetheart left him. It had crushed Jax. She had gone weeks without seeing him. Somehow, she believed he had just lost the only person that was meant for him. He knew it too, which was why he said nothing. Katherine sighed. She had forgotten that was the off limits subject; she waited until he felt like speaking.

"So what are you doing wandering the hallways? Isn't your brother here to pick you up?"

Katherine sighed again, but it was lighter, headed toward a smile. "He will be tomorrow. I managed to get out a day early, wanted to surprise him. Forgot about transportation though."

The next smile she knew was genuine. "And am I supposed to be the solution to that problem?"

She shrugged, the soreness and pain almost making it impossible. "Only if you want to. It'll feel like old times."

"You still have that Hello Kitty backpack?"

Katherine smacked Jax as he started laughing. "I told you my mom bought that for me."

"Then why so defensive?" She gave him a look. "Alright, c'mon."

They walked down the hallway together, his arm comfortably around her shoulder. This was what she had wanted to return home to, the closeness of friends and family, not to a broken body and shattered dreams, but the Sons were taking care of it, she knew. Gemma would approve of no less than a manhunt, and that was what her boys would give her. If Gemma was not happy, nobody was happy, a fact that she had witnessed on more than one occasion. She had always wanted the ability to make men cringe when she yelled like Gemma.

The parking lot was fairly empty. It made Katherine feel more at ease, the less people that saw her, the better. She had no problem going home and crawling into a very small hole for the next couple weeks, or at least avoiding mirrors during that time. Breathing in the free air, she felt a smile growing. It was nice to hear the birds overhead instead of monitors, to smell the choking exhaust of a car nearby instead of the bleached clean surroundings inside. When she finally came to from her perhaps overdone euphoria, Katherine turned to face a rather entertained Jax, leaning on his bike, his helmet offered in her direction.

Katherine put her hands on her hips. "You expect that to fit me?" Jax shrugged, tossing it over.

"Doesn't this plan of yours have another problem?" he asked as Katherine put on the helmet.

"That being?"

"What if your brother tries to visit you and you're not here? I don't think that's the surprise you were going for."

"He won't." she replied simply, hopping on the back of the bike. "At least, not without coming home first. I threatened violence if he ever visited again in that uniform. I hate looking like I'm being interrogated." She got comfortable, wrapping her arms around Jax like she had done so many times before. It brought back warm memories of those days after school when she received jealous looks from female population. Everyone knew about the Sons and, while not all admitted it, they all had fantasies about getting on the back of one of those bikes, staring at the grim reaper up close and personal. She would joke around that the guys were not worth it but that never stopped the girls from drooling when the sound of a motorcycle approaching could be heard from the classroom. Eyes would always turn in her direction.

"What about Jacob?" Jax asked. He wanted to know if the oldest Hale even cared about his sister.

She sighed. Jacob had been on some business trip and had apparently not wanted to be contacted about anything, wanted nothing to do with Charming for a while. This had thrown David into a small tirade about how Jacob had practically abandoned his family. Katherine was certain that if Jacob had known, he would have done everything he could to get back, at least she hoped. For now she was content on believing he knew nothing about the incident, if only to make herself feel better about her family situation.

"What about him?"

The bike revved to life as his response. He did not approve. She knew it. If there was one person he did not like more than her deputy chief brother, it was her other brother. The Hales and the Sons had always clashed and then somehow Katherine had found a way through. Most of the time her brothers argued it was because she was a woman. She always believed it was because that she had given them a chance, then again the lack of testosterone did not hinder her either.

Feeling the wind on her face as she leaned her head on Jax's shoulder, Katherine felt like a child again. The town nearly convinced her of it as they sped past, none of it looking any different than it had before she left. That was how the Sons liked it and that was how she liked it. She had almost forgotten about everything terrible that had happened when they reached her brother's house. Slowing down in front of it, she Katherine remembered the night she had seen it last followed by the blackness that contained the origin of her wounds. She wanted to urge Jax to keep going, take her anywhere, maybe even back to the garage but the plan was quickly rejected. Jax no doubt had other things to take care of, and she did not want to face the guys like this, especially not knowing who else had seen her.

The two headed for the front door quietly, Katherine forcing Jax to turn around while she found the spare key much to his amusement. She invited him in but he declined.

"It's bad enough I'm here." Jax said. "It'd give your brother a heart attack if he found out a Son was actually inside his house."

"I'm sure you wouldn't mind that." Katherine added deadpan, playing with the lock on the front door.

"But you would." She paused for a moment before pushing the door open. Katherine had always walked a fine line when it came to her relationship with the Sons, her family only tolerating her rides and babysitting out of necessity. She knew that seeing them gone was the dream of both of her brothers, and that getting her brothers out of the way temporarily if not permanently was a nice thought to the Sons. Neutrality was out of the question, but that was a fight for another day. For now the present was enough to deal with.

Katherine stepped inside the house, turning around to say goodbye. Jax leaned on the doorway, observing what he could of the inside.

"He keeps the newspaper articles on you guys on the walls in the basement," she said, smiling. "Not within public view."

Jax returned the gesture. "Just a little curious, that's all."

She leaned against the other side. "Okay…well, that is a loveseat you see in the corner and yes, he did choose the paint color of the living room. Want me to bring out a pair of jeans? Believe it or not, he does own them."

He laughed. "Nah, that's okay. I believe you. I have to get back anyway."

"Okay," Katherine nodded. A silence fell, neither moving. The air got thicker with expectation. She wanted to ask and he knew it. How to form the question was a difficult, slow task for her but Jax waited, feeling the necessity of it.

"Your…your mom said that you found me." Jax nodded, knowing that was not the question, though it sounded like one. The actual question was much worse. "How did…what…what did they do to me?"

Jax sighed. "Do you really want to know?" Katherine thought she had. Forgetting felt like the best option but every day her curiosity grew stronger, the fear that the memory would hit her suddenly growing as well. Perhaps knowledge would ease the suffering.

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah I do."

He looked at her for a long time, trying to figure out if what she said was true, maybe putting it off more, hoping to get away without saying anything but Katherine was standing her ground. Some days she could be a bigger pain in the ass than either of her brothers. There would be no getting away without saying something.

Sighing again, Jax ran his hand through his hair, looking down. "Unser had seen something outside of town, called Clay, wanted us to look." He paused. "You were hanging from a tree. That's probably where they beat you. At least the bastards didn't strip you completely naked. I started to cut you down when you-˝

"When I screamed." Katherine looked up from her worn wrists, meeting Jax's gaze. She did not know where it came from, could not even remember him cutting her down but somehow she knew.

Jax nodded. "You were begging me to stop, thinking I was going to hurt you again." Katherine felt a chill crawl up her spine, afraid of what she did not know, of the secrets the darkness of her mind held. "That's all I know, Kat…I'm sorry." She nodded, watching as he began to walk away, feeling how uncomfortable he had become with the subject. Again she heard Gemma's voice, knowing that she could not let him leave like this.

"Jax, wait." Katherine walked over, wrapping him in a tighter hug, holding on a little longer than she had before. Kissing him on the cheek, she said, "Thank you for everything. I'll be fine, Jax, you can stop worrying."

"You always could see right through me, couldn't you?" He asked, smiling.

"I can see through any of you guys. Consider me your mom's unofficial apprentice."

Laughing again, Jax made his way back to the bike. Katherine stood outside until he was well out of sight, heading back to the house with a lot on her mind. Hearing the story, she was expecting something, an epiphany of sorts but for now her mind still withheld everything from her.

After triple checking the locks on the door, she moved to the kitchen, wanting to prepare something for when her brother came back. The fridge was practically bare at this point, with nothing more than a couple bottles of beer and cottage cheese. Sighing, she opened the cupboard next to it. "Ramen noodles it is."

Turning around, Katherine's gaze fell on the table in the dining room. The two plates were still there, as were the glasses, left just how they had been the night she left. Her brother was not the tidiest person but he was not the laziest either. He would have taken his time in cleaning up, the missing silverware evidence; he must have been in the middle of clearing the dishes when he got the call. Staring at the scene, she could remember the last conversation they had before she was attacked. It had been on something stupid, Charming gossip, but entertaining, filled with laughter, the kind he thought he would never hear again, but she had proved him wrong several times already. It almost felt wrong that she acted this way.

Feeling the urge to leave, Katherine quickly obliged, heading into the living room again. She felt her heartbeat quicken, her breaths become heavier, more desperate. Inside the hospital there were constantly noises, whether from the machines or the staff, but here, here it was dead silent, deafening, frightening.

_It was quiet in the dark. She had no idea how long they had been gone. She had been fading in and out of consciousness but now she felt painfully awake. Her breath could be seen, fogging the view of the moonlight covered forest in front of her._

The room was spinning. She could not make it to the couch, hitting hard against the wall instead. A picture that had once been hanging crashed to the floor next to her.

_The branch had cracked once, moving her ever so slightly but enough to make her wrists cry out. They were slowly being rubbed raw. She could feel a small blood trail trickle down, almost reaching her elbow now. The cuts on her back bled as well, their flows feeling like a flood._

Katherine felt herself sliding down the wall, trying to avoid the others as they closed in on her. She was wrong; she did not want to know, wanted the memories to disappear now but she had no choice.

_She had cried out until her voice, and what was left of her hope, died. The tears flowed until she drifted into darkness again, almost certain that she would not see the light anymore._

Instead of coming home to a simple surprise dinner, Hale found his sister huddled in the spot where she fell. She would not let him touch her, would flinch every time he came close. For the next few hours all he could do was watch his sister until whatever it was she was experiencing subsided.

* * *

:'(

I just love making fun of the fact you never see Hale in anything but his uniform. Maybe one day...civilian clothes! Thanx for reading!


	3. Complications

Wow, that took me a while. Sorry about that. Well, here is chapter three! Yay!!!! We get to learn a little bit more about her relationship with the boys. I think I may have made her a bit closer to them than I let on in the beginning. I apologize for that. It was a sudden change in idea. Hope you still find it enjoyable.

Oh, and in other news...I have officially determined that Deputy Chief Hale has no other clothes. :D

**

* * *

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**Chapter Three: Complications**

Katherine had not left the house in a few days, busying herself with cleaning up the place, even when she was positive there was not a speck of dirt to be found. She had watched her brother's scarce movie collection at least twice and had even attempted to tolerate daytime soaps until her better judgment came through. Every day the backyard found itself mowed and scrutinized for any weeds that may have been missed the previous day. She did anything to keep herself occupied, and away from the outside world, but ignoring the situation would do nothing.

Grabbing her spare keys that hung in the kitchen, Katherine began to make her way out the door, only to stop about half way through, thinking. There had been no sign of her car for days. It could be halfway across the country now if that was what the attackers wanted. For now she would have to rely on someone else to take her places. David was out of the question. Every day after work he came home beat, which was an extraordinary task considering Charming was a small town. Then again, it was not like most others, as it proved time and time again. Besides, he was becoming the paranoid type. He would not let her leave the city limits unless there was an armed escort.

She sighed, tossing the keys in her hand; she might as well have been chained to the place. Thinking over what else there may have been, Katherine found herself becoming a little desperate. Taxis cost too much, not to mention being out on her own gave her the chills still. She had no friends in the area, most had left, hating small town life. Then a thought crossed her mind, leaving a smile on her face.

There was another option.

It was a beautiful Saturday in Charming. No clouds, not too hot, there were even children laughing in the background to help complete the picturesque small town. Despite the day's perfection, Katherine constantly found herself looking behind her, jumping slightly at sudden noises, difficulty at giving friendly smiles to those that passed by. She hated what she had become.

Having not lost her sense of direction, Katherine soon found herself at the entrance of the Teller-Morrow garage. She noted that most of the bikes were gone. The boys must be out on one of their 'errands.' Growing up, she used to have fantasies of what they did, none of them accurate by any stretch of the imagination. Even now, her mind began concocting a story terribly similar to the last episode of COPS she had seen.

A mechanic started jogging her way from the garage. He looked like a pretty goofy kid, reminding her of one she knew. In fact, his bike was still there. Just maybe…

"Can I help you?" he asked, stepping in between Katherine and the bikes. She gave the boy a onceover, noting the writing on his work shirt.

"Prospect, huh?" Katherine smiled, "Your year up yet?"

He tried to return the gesture, uncertain if he could trust her somewhat knowledge of the group. "Nah, got a few months to go."

"Too bad." She offered her hand. "Katherine."

"Oh…" The boy whispered, backing down from her offer.

"What?"

"Off limits, Clay's orders."

Katherine began to laugh. He would do that, no doubt the order coming from her previous experience with the last prospect. It was an unfair thing. She had changed now, and the boy that stood before her was not as remotely good looking as the last one.

"Well, can I at least get a name out of you?"

"The guys call me Half-Sack." He smiled as Katherine's look changed to something interesting.

"Do I want to ask?"

"Do you want to know?"

"Not really."

His smile grew. "Uh, Gemma is in the office, if you're looking for her. I don't know who else you'd be here for. You don't really look like a crow eater to me." Crow eaters. She had heard of them, was fairly positive that the people she hated most in school had become them. It was a step above prostitute, a very small one in her opinion.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Walking down the lot, Katherine listened to the eerie echo of her footsteps. Normally the place was not so quiet, not so empty. It almost frightened her, if that made any sense.

Gemma hardly looked up from the mess of papers before her when Katherine entered the office; she merely waved her hand in some direction expecting her to understand something. Smiling, Katherine looked around the room. Papers were stuck to every wall, one almost completely buried by orders, shipments and a few pin ups the guys liked to scare customers with.

She smiled, whispering, "Hasn't changed a bit."

A pencil dropped. Katherine turned back to Gemma who now removed her glasses. She looked over, the corners of her lips lifting ever so slightly. There was something going on, even she could tell. Looks like she was not the only one who had fallen on hard times.

"Guys will never change, no matter how old and decrepit they are. I don't know how many times I've tried to organize this place."

"What would they do without you?" Katherine asked, leaning against one of the walls. She watched the smile grow.

"I've thought about that a few times…and it ain't pretty." Gemma paused a moment, glancing down at the paperwork. "So where have you been, kid? Jax said he dropped you off at home a couple days ago. Haven't seen you around town since."

Katherine shrugged. "Guess I was waiting until the bruises were more…manageable." She hated how simply the words came out like she had hit herself with a door or something, and how equally embarrassing it was to talk about it, how quickly she tried to push it aside. Gemma must have noticed but said nothing of it, using her gift of omniscience to point out something else instead.

"What is it you want, Katherine? As you can see, we're a little short handed here." She watched the girl bit her lip and look down, a little uncertain now.

"Well, I was in the process of moving back to Charming when…" She let the sentence hang in the air a little too long before continuing. "Anyway, I've given up on the possibility of finding my car and I still need to make one last trip to my apartment. And…well, you know David."

Gemma sighed, "San Francisco is a long trip, sweetheart, not to mention there are about half a million bad things for the club you could run into out there."

Katherine nodded. "Yeah, I know. It seemed like a better idea before." She sat there for a moment, defeated, realizing it was pointless to come in the first place. Lost in thought, she did not realize that Gemma was watching her. If the girl was trying to hide how it all affected her, she was doing a poor job of it. Every inch of her screamed nervous wreck and vulnerable. There would be no getting her brother to go with her, she was too proud for the kind of protection he would provide. There would be no going by herself either, they would eat her alive.

Sighing again, Gemma stood and dug in her purse, tossing the keys in Katherine's direction. "You're taking my car. There's no way in hell that van can pull off inconspicuous." She paused at the door to the garage, hand barely turning the knob. "You know he's the only one that can go with you."

"Hm?" Katherine looked up from the keys, faking confusion.

"Don't play stupid with me. I know you came here with the intention of getting one of the boys to go with you. Considering what happened, I guess I can't blame you." The girl said nothing but nodded slowly. "I'm not about to send the Prospect with you. He probably wouldn't want to go after the talk Clay gave him, not that the other option is any better. He should be the one with the off-limits policy."

Katherine groaned, hoping that this would not start again. The memory was embarrassing enough. She did not need to relive it. "Gemma, that was six years ago."

"Your point?"

"My point is I've been to college, had my girls gone wild moments. I don't plan on revisiting them anytime soon, least of all with him."

Gemma did not look convinced. "My car better not smell like pussy." Katherine shook her head and began to laugh. She supposed it was something that she would never live down no matter what happened to her. She began to walk to the parking lot when Gemma shouted her way. "And he's driving!"

Katherine whirled around, looking more offended by this. "What?"

"I saw what you did to your father's car!" Gemma witnessed what she thought was a small hissy fit before going back inside, smiling. Despite the six years, she was still the same little girl that left.

. . .

They had been on the road for about a half hour at this point. Aside from Katherine greeting him with a 'hey prospect' and directions, there had been total silence between the two. She stared out the window the entire time, lost in her thoughts, trying to sort through the mess. He would glance over at her every now and then, trying to gauge her mood, reactions, movements, anything but always coming up with nothing. He had tried to play the radio for a while but became fed up with it, mostly because no matter what station it was on, Katherine met the music with deaf ears. Starting conversations had never been his forte and she was making it no easier on him.

"So…" Juice started after a ten minute debate with himself. "Is it…are…are you…"

Katherine smiled at his inability to form a complete sentence, conveying her first emotion to him. "I'm fine, Juice. A little bruised but fine."

Juice nodded. "That's good. The way people talked about you, it sounded like they'd decapitated you or something."

"Well, I'm fairly certain my head's still attached." She turned to face him, leaning her head on her hand, elbow on the door. Juice nodded slightly, eyes fixed on the road. His grip on the steering wheel was unbelievably tight, white-knuckled. Tense failed to describe his disposition.

"Did Clay talk to you too?"

Juice shook his head. "No, but he wanted to. I keep thinking about what he'd do if he saw us." He paused, "I have a pretty good imagination."

"You'll be fine, Juice. I think you're protected under the 'Gemma told me to' clause." Her poorly attempted joke had little effect. Juice's small laugh was nervous, his grip no looser than before.

"Because that worked so well for me last time."

Katherine's smile faded slightly. She sat back on the seat, staring at the license plate of the truck in front of them. Last time. It had been her senior prom. After discovering that the man she liked to call her boyfriend had a motel room key in his pocket reserved for a cheerleader whose hair was bigger than her IQ, Katherine promptly punched the boy and ran out of the school gym. She had called Gemma, hoping the woman could pick her up and spare her the ridiculous broken heart conversation with her mom. Gemma would at least talk about revenge. Unfortunately, Gemma was busy so she arranged for the prospect to take her home. Katherine had gotten rides home before from Juice. He was a nice enough guy but she was on the verge of tears. Men were not very talented in the emotional department.

He came in some beat up Monte Carlo, much to Katherine's relief. Her red dress landed about halfway up her thighs and made it a little difficult to move in. The thought of her getting on a motorcycle seemed beyond impossible and made her blush thinking about it.

Her makeup was smudged from crying. If he noticed, which there seemed no possible way for him not to, he did not say anything. Somehow Katherine convinced him not to take her home. She did not want her mom to see her this way, or her brothers if they were over. Plus, prom still had a couple hours to go. The details of the apparently convincing conversation with Juice were a little fuzzy. It was not long after that she had found a bottle of Jack Daniel's and decided to sample it.

A couple hours passed. Katherine, now drunk, and Juice, who held his liquor better but was still on his way out, found themselves on the backseat in a compromising position. Their clothes were still on but that may not have been the case a few minutes later if a tapping noise on the window had not caught their attention. Juice got lucky in a different way that night. It was Chief Unser who found them. He drove her home, allowing her to enter the house on her own and face the parents with a fairly decent excuse. Clay found out about Juice's actions and did something, though no one would ever tell her what.

"At least I was eighteen." A grin now plastered her face after she witnessed an involuntary twitch from Juice. He had been twenty three at the time. They continued on in silence after that, Juice no longer nervous but more or less angry at Katherine.

. . .

After navigating Juice through the streets of San Francisco, the two finally parked in front of her apartment building. They were silent walking through the hallway, entering the elevator where Katherine pressed the button for level seven. This elevator did not even have music which made it all the more annoying.

"Whatever happened to the Monte Carlo?" Katherine asked, watching the top of the door as level three slowly lit up. Her apartment would have the slowest elevator.

A smile actually appeared on his face. "I, uh…I totaled it."

Katherine crossed her arms, still watching the doors. Level four. "And Gemma forbid _me_ to drive."

"Hey, I didn't crash into a light pole on the other side of the sidewalk." Without looking away, Katherine smacked Juice on the chest, causing him to break down into laughter.

"No one's allowed to talk about that, remember?" she asked, finally looking at him. He only began to laugh harder, making her soon join in. Somehow the elevator finally made it to their destination and the doors slowly creaked open. They walked side by side down the hallway in a better mood than before.

"So, why are you moving back?" Juice asked. "Thought you like it out here."

"I do, but a teacher's salary is getting me nowhere." Katherine replied, reading the numbers on the doors, suddenly forgetting where she stayed.

"Wait, you're a teacher?"

Katherine turned around. "Yeah. Is there a problem with that?"

"Well, no…I don't know. It just seems…"

"Too innocent an occupation for Charming?"

"I was going to say too boring for you but that works too, I guess." Katherine shook her head, continuing down the never ending hallway. "You staying with your brother then?"

"Yeah, unfortunately." Katherine said, finally stopping at her door. She began to dig in her pocket for the keys. "I wasn't really looking forward to it in the first place but now…now he just frets over everything I do. I can't find my own place quick enough." With a creak, the door to her apartment opened, revealing a nearly empty, pristine place save for the living room where the contents of a couple boxes had been strewn everywhere and the television smashed to bits.

Juice was instantly on alert, gently but insistently pushing Katherine to the side as he drew a pistol from under his cut. He stepped forward carefully, inspecting every corner like she believed a police officer would. Katherine followed behind, stepping quietly into her apartment, giving it a onceover. It felt so alien to her now. Even the place she once slept in was no longer safe. Her traces of normalcy were beginning to fade away.

Comfortable with his search of the place, Juice returned to Katherine, finding her still in the doorway, staring at something on the counter. Following her gaze, he spotted the keys. They both exchanged a couple glances before Katherine grabbed her keys and ran out the door, Juice right behind her. Not wanting to deal with the elevator this time, Katherine took the stairs, skipping three at a time on her way down. Bursting into the parking garage and pressing the alarm button, she nearly ran toward the sound of the car alarm until a strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Hang on," Juice whispered in her ear as she tried to escape his grip. "We don't know if it's safe."

"You telling me they're waiting in a public garage for me?" Katherine shook loose and began to walk toward her car, Juice close behind, looking around to make sure that what she said was not the case. The small, blue car looked in one piece from the outside. They both glanced inside the windows on the lookout for anything suspicious but it looked untouched, her cold coffee still in the cup holder from her drive to Charming that night.

"It looks okay." Katherine ventured after a while, noticing the now serious look on Juice's face. It scared her when he looked this way.

"Pop the trunk." He said, moving to the back of the vehicle. Katherine followed him, pressing the trunk button. It opened maybe a few inches, letting loose a rancid smell. Juice looked over at her. "You might not want to see this."

Katherine shook her head. "I want to see what I caused."

Juice glanced at her in surprise, concerned by how dead certain her voice had sounded. "You didn't do anything."

She said nothing but grabbed the trunk and opened it all the way. Juice hardly noticed the contents. He knew what would be in there; he was looking at Katherine. At first she did nothing, simply stared but then she took a sharp breath and stepped away, clasping her hand over her mouth, mumbling something inaudible. Shaking her head continuously, she stepped back further until she hit the wall, tears beginning to line her eyes.

Juice sighed, "Come here." Moving over to her, Juice wrapped Katherine in his arms, turning her head away from the scene. She buried her face so deeply in his chest that he could feel the tears flowing down.

"God, he's just a kid." It was the only coherent thing she managed to say. Juice held her tighter in response, slowly moving her away from the vehicle. Grabbing out his cell, Juice punched in one number before holding it to his ear.

"Clay, we've got a problem."

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:D


	4. Decisions

I am soooooooooo sorry it has taken me so long to update! I had the most horrible case of writer's block for this story. And then I went on vacation and then I started college, but tonight I sat down and started writing and it went very well. The beginning might be a bit awkward because that was where I struggled but then it will really flow I believe.

Thank you for not abandoning me!

Enjoy!

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**Chapter Four: Decisions**

They had been staring angrily at each other ever since she came back home. Katherine was resisting the urge to breakdown in front of her brother once more while he was attempting to hold back the need to drive after Juice and beat him into the pavement. One of them was going to get it one of these days, both siblings had their own suspicions.

Hale had been waiting for her, getting the frightened phone call from his sister a few hours before from a police station in San Francisco. It was bad enough that she had been alone with one of them for such a long period of time, even taking them to her place but now they knew a little bit more about her case. He had given them a head start but had no intention of letting them finish it. The men would get there due; he would make sure of it.

He watched her stand there, knowing that the anger was only a façade; he knew more about what was going on than she would have wanted him to, maybe even knew things that she did not. All of the horrible sounds she made in her sleep, the begging, the screams. It nearly drove him insane every night. How he managed to sleep he did not know. He only wished she would stay away from the Sons, it killed him enough that she was suffering the way she was and that she would not let him in.

Hale sighed. He might as well start it on a nice note. "Are you okay?"

"As fine as I'll ever be." Katherine replied, her mood and stance unchanging. She was ready to do battle. It would lead to that eventually so why not just start it now?

"Why did you have to go to San Francisco?"

Katherine shrugged. "I wanted to get the rest of my things, finish moving, simulate a normal life. Guess I'm not cut out for that just yet."

"I could have gone with you."

"Yeah, you and your overwhelming protection? No thanks, David. You would have had the entire state's police force on that sight the moment I opened the door." Hale wanted to control his anger for his sister's sake but he could not. They had loved each other dearly, and still did, but they also had their moments. Their arguments used to go on for hours, anger lasting for days, even weeks. They were just so different from each other.

"And that is supposed to be a bad thing?" Hale asked, pacing around a little, not really one for standing around for too long. "You act as though you wanted to see that body." Katherine's silence caused him to look over at her, concern coursing through his veins as he watched her face the ground, head nodding ever so slightly. "Why would you want that?"

Katherine looked up again, tears lining her eyes. She could not keep up the picture of normalcy. Hale walked over to her in an instant, wrapping his arms around his baby sister.

"It's all my fault." She began to mumble. "I overheard who he was, some boy that worked at the gas station I had stopped at. They figured he saw something and so they killed him. If I hadn't stopped there, just kept going, this never would have happened, he'd still be alive."

"Stop saying that. It's not true." Hale whispered, playing with Katherine's hair like he used to do when they were kids. "You had no way of knowing that this would happen." He could feel her shaking, sniffing as much as she breathed. His arms wrapped tighter, wishing to stop them. Why did it have to be his sister? He hated himself for thinking it but some part of him wished that it was someone else in the town, someone else's daughter, sister, girlfriend, anyone but Katherine.

He could feel the cell phone vibrate. Someone wanted him. For a few moments he considered not answering it, more important things before him. There were plenty of other people to handle the case, but he felt Katherine reach for the phone and give it to him.

"Answer it." She said deadpan, probably the scariest thing he had heard her say yet.

The phone flipped open. "Hale." The voice on the other end garbled, not that Katherine cared to hear the conversation, until she felt her brother tense. She looked up at him curiously. "Where did you find it?" It was still too difficult to hear but apparently not for her brother. He slammed the phone shut, backing away from her, heading quickly for the door.

"What is it?" Katherine asked, voice still fragile sounding but stronger.

"Stay away from them, Katherine!" He shouted halfway out the door. She did not need to guess who he was referring to; she ran out the door after him, crashing into the door of the jeep as he got in.

"What are you doing, David?" Katherine asked, worried.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"They haven't done anything. They never did." Hale stopped for a moment then, glancing up at his sister, seeing the genuine fear for the men he had come to hate.

"That's what you think." The jeep began to back out of the lot, Katherine following it.

"David, stop!" He said nothing, putting the vehicle into drive, speeding off down the street. "David!"

. . .

The men were silent, probably more than any of them had been in an actual church. Juice had just finished with his update to the Katherine Hale case that they had been ever aware of but more or less ignoring for the past couple days. Questioning the locals turned up nothing and the video tape was blurry at best, only showing that the people who abducted her were indeed wearing the Mayan cut, though some still had their doubts.

"They sure are cocky bastards." Bobby mumbled, breaking the silence. There were many nods around the table as well as murmurs of agreement.

Piney, sitting opposite of Clay, cleared his throat. "So now what do we do?"

He felt all eyes turn to him and sighed. Some days he wished he could just be one of the normal members, sitting on the sides instead of where he was. President was not all it was cracked up to be, undesirable. How anyone could strive to get that title he did not understand. All it resulted in was more hatred than rewards and premature death.

"Keep an eye out, see what happens. Unser says ATF is grilling the Mayans hard. Desperation causes mistakes. Maybe one will head our way." There were more nods but the room remained silent. Waiting was not a strong point for any of the Sons; waiting meant things became more complicated, meant that details would be forgotten.

"What about Katherine?" Jax asked.

"Watch out for her but don't go out of your way just to do it. We're not her babysitters. This is a family affair and the last time I checked the Sons and the Hales weren't related."

Church was dismissed soon after that, the members slowly exiting to go about whatever business they had. A couple stopped at the bar, some went to the shop. Jax lit up a cigarette and walked into the parking lot, thinking things through. He did not disagree with what Clay had said, a strange occurrence as of late, but he wished there was something else they could do. She was close to the club, closer than what her brothers or the Sons' president would like to admit. An example needed to be made.

It was then he noticed something out of place, a vehicle that had not been there the last time he had checked. The vehicle turned out to be Hale's jeep, the man himself walking toward him at a ridiculous rate.

. . .

After pleading for several minutes with Trudy Goldstein, their seventy-year-old neighbor, to borrow her rusty Oldsmobile, Katherine found herself speeding down the streets of Charming, praying she would not attract unwanted attention thus getting her brother in more trouble than he was already in. She only hoped he did not kill anyone, which seemed like a very good possibility.

She pulled up to the Teller-Morrow Garage in time to see her brother give Jackson Teller a decent left hook.

"David!" Katherine shouted, nearly crashing into a vehicle parked on the side of the road. She was not even certain that then engine was completely off when she hopped out of the driver side door, running to the parking lot as fast as her legs could carry her.

"You thought I wouldn't find out!" Hale shouted, only making her run faster. Jax, caught in his surprise, had fallen to the ground. He now looked up at his attacker, confusion and anger evident. "Where the hell is he?"

"Where the hell is who?" Jax asked as he got to his feet. He was holding back. No need to make things more complicated.

"Don't lie to me, Jax!" Hale grabbed him by the collar, actually managing to pick him up slightly. "You've gotten away with a lot of shit but not this time." Jax only smiled at him as he saw figures exiting the clubhouse from the corner of his eye.

Katherine nearly slammed into Hale, though at full speed she doubted it would affect him. "David, what are you doing? Let him go!"

Hale turned to her a moment. "This is none of your business, Katherine."

She might have done something rash if someone had not grabbed her. Juice moved her away from the fight as Bobby and Chibs pulled her brother off of Jax. Katherine calmed down, if only slightly. At least her brother was not completely capable of killing the man now, though he still had to explain for it.

"None of my business? It's my fault isn't it?" This seemed to flip a switch in Hale. He turned to his younger sister, a worried look in his eyes. Bobby and Chibs continued to hold onto him but their grip loosened slightly as they too looked at Katherine. "You know, I didn't have to stop at that gas station. There was another one coming up, I'm sure. I could have been the responsible one and filled up before I left too. There are about a million things I could have done differently."

"How could you say that?" Hale asked, looking as though he had been stabbed. "None of this is your fault."

"He's right, you know." Juice whispered in her ear. Katherine gave him a quick look, urging him to stay out of it, shaking out of his grasp.

"I am at as much fault here as they are, David. I know they're the big evil guys in your book but right now, they're my rescuers." She should have had him right there and then, but it was at that moment that the last person they needed to see stepped out of the clubhouse to satisfy his curiosity at all of the noise outside.

Hale saw him first, moving swiftly, breaking away from Bobby and Chibs for a moment but they were quick on their feet, grabbing him once more, nearly dragging him to the ground. Katherine was yelling for him to stop again, her arms once again in Juice's possession. Jax meanwhile, having witnessed everything in a contemplative silence, turned to the newcomer: Tig.

"Don't think you can get away with it this time!" Hale shouted among other things, throwing in profanity in the most random of places. "I'll kill you! You hear me? I will kill you!"

"Tig, get back inside, now!" Jax shouted, his authority carrying across the parking lot. The Sergeant at Arms did not question him, slightly afraid at the deputy for the first time since he met the man. After making certain he was inside for good, Jax walked up to Hale, a serious look back on his face. It was time to end it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Hale?" Jax asked, his voice calm, a level head on his shoulders.

"I'm getting the man who hurt my little sister." Hale replied, standing straight again, his struggle ceasing for the moment. "You're a friend of hers, aren't you? Are you going to let that sick bastard get away with this?"

Katherine was about to say something but Jax gave her a look, the same one she had given Juice. "We've already told you what happened. We found your sister on the side of the road. Tig was with us before that. He did nothing. Listen to your sister."

"Bullshit! I got a call today from one of the officers. Turns out someone stumbled upon a crime scene, one with a rope hanging from a branch and blood on the ground." Hale paused, "It was half a mile from the road! You couldn't see her if you were looking!"

Katherine turned to Jax, the look on her face asking if it was true. Jax said nothing which was all she needed. She looked to the ground, searching it for an answer. Maybe it would actually tell the truth. It seemed that no one else would. Paranoia grew within, her breath increasing as she thought about the possibility more and more. Could he have done this to her?

Juice seemed to notice the change and squeezed her arm reassuringly but she merely freed herself from his grasp once more and looked at him accusingly. "Did he do this to me?" He only looked at her in stunned silence. "Did he do this to me?" In her rage, Katherine threw off the sweatshirt she wore, revealing the tank top she wore underneath, and more importantly, the scars on her back. Juice was the only one with a good view and he stared at them wide eyed. Her voice seemed to echo for blocks. It sent a shiver up all of their spines. Seeing his sister react this way, Hale calmed down, allowing Bobby and Chibs to once again lower their guard. They looked at each other a moment, silently communicating the trouble they were in.

"Kat, you know Tig."

"Do I, Jax? Do I really? All I know is that he is some sick freak that gets off on doing fucked up things to women. I think this qualifies!"

Jax sighed. Even he was starting to hate the man and he had done nothing. "Alright, you know me don't you? Do you really think I'd let him do this to you? I'd kill him myself."

"Then explain it to me, Jax." Katherine said, voice calm but cooler. "Explain how you found me."

He sighed again. "Unser called us. He had seen the Mayans outside of town and was paranoid." He paused looking at Katherine, whose face was lighted again with surprise. "Apparently he had a good reason to be."

It was silent for a while. Katherine took to looking at the ground again, walking away from the group, deep in thought. Hale would be the one to interrupt it.

"Do you expect me to believe that?" He asked, looking ready to attack again.

"Get the tape," Jax said, looking at Bobby. The Secretary hesitated a moment. "Get it." Bobby walked away from the group, glancing warily at Hale a moment before heading into the clubhouse. He returned moments later with a tape, handing it to Jax, who in turn gave it to Hale. "This is all the proof you'll need."

Hale stared at the tape a moment, unsure that he should believe them still. He was also frozen in place by the embarrassment coursing through his body. Jax did not seem to care. He did not blame the man for drawing the conclusion.

"Look, you can either take it now or view it from a cell when I call Unser and tell him what you did." Taking the hint, Hale walked back over to his jeep, head still held high but everyone could see right through him. He looked at Katherine as he passed but she hardly responded, mad at him for making her believe that one of the Sons had committed the crime, mad at herself for being so gullible.

. . .

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Hale had returned to the police station, his anger rekindled. He slammed the tape down on the desk, not hard enough to break it, but with enough force to scare Unser half out of his wits as his scanned the sports section of the local paper. He looked at his deputy with reserved anger, wondering what the young man was complaining about this time.

"Tell you what?"

"About the Mayans!"

Unser sighed, the anger leaving. He should have expected this to happen. Hale had his moments but he was not stupid, especially when it came to his family. For the past few days he had been considering whether or not to tell him but it seemed the choice had been made for him. The cat was out of the bag.

"I had someone else take care of it." He paused, thinking of what else to add so the man would not strangle him. "Turns out the ATF was starting a case on them and was real pleased to hear about the situation. Sorry, poor choice of words. Plus, I didn't want you to do something stupid."

Unser glanced up at Hale in time to see his eyes move around the room, the anger dissipating, replaced with something along the lines of guilt.

"You already did, didn't you?" He took the deputy's now continued silence as a yes. "Jesus Christ, Hale. What was it?"

Hale shifted on his feet. "I may have accused Tig of being the perpetrator."

"Who do you think I am?" Unser asked, getting angry. "Now I know that you don't approve of my relationship with the Sons and I'm okay with that. I even tolerate your constant childlike vendetta you have against them. Frankly, I give you more credit than you deserve most of the time!" he paused, "Now can't you give me a little? Do you really think that I am so tarnished as you like to call it that I would cover up a crime against an innocent, young girl, especially your sister?"

The air became awkward, at least for one of the men. Unser watched as Hale shrank before him. He sighed, anger subsiding.

"Look, I know what this means to you. If anyone did anything to my sister, I'd like to personally see the light fade from their eyes but we have a job to do here. Get off the case, Hale. Take care of your sister."

The deputy merely nodded, exiting the room as quickly as he arrived. Unser leaned back in his chair, wondering why he ever chose a guy like Hale as his deputy. Upon remembering, he hated himself all the more.

. . .

Katherine had yet to leave. She had walked to the car with every intention of driving away and never showing her face again. Everything seemed to have imploded the moment she stepped back into Charming. What made her feel worse was that others knew more about the situation than she did. It made her feel naked and ashamed. She just wanted to hide. Instead, she had caved, the cautious side of her not wanting to get in an accident. For now she sat on the curb next to the Oldsmobile, hardly noticing that the front tire was well onto the grass.

She could hear the footsteps approaching. Part of her wished to walk away then, another wanted to cuss them out, whoever they were, until they went away. Realizing how much good either would do, she just stayed put, attempting to guess who was heading her way. They sat down next to her without a sound but she guessed that they wished to say something.

"What do you want to ask, Juice?" Katherine asked, tone unchanging. There were only two options. Jax would have known what to say.

"I, uh…never mind."

"Seriously, what is it?"

"It might offend you."

"Since when do you care?" She could feel eyes on her. Looking over, Katherine saw Juice giving her a look of combined concern and insult. She never knew him as someone to be insulted easily, considering the crowd he hung out with. "What?"

Juice quickly shook it off, gaze moving to her back. "Do…do they…hurt?"

Katherine shrugged. "Sometimes. It's not the physical pain that worries me."

"What does worry you?" Katherine looked harder at Juice, trying to figure him out. She did not wish to insult him but Juice was never the most understanding of individuals. In fact, most just wrote him off as stupid, but she was beginning to see a different side of him now.

She sighed. "I'm not free anymore. I'll always be the person walking down the street that people look at strangely, whispering to others about how they think I got these. I don't want that." They were silent a moment, then Katherine felt fabric covering her shoulders. She looked to see Juice placing her sweatshirt over her. She smiled, "I don't think you're supposed to cover up the problem."

"Hey, just because I tried doesn't make me any good at this."

Katherine laughed. He enjoyed hearing it. After the other day or even a few minutes ago, he didn't think that he would ever hear it again, but a frown surfaced again and he grew concerned once more.

"Was it really the Mayans?" There was no response. Katherine waited hoping he was looking for a way to say it but when he remained silent, she touched his arm. "Juice?"

Now he sighed, "What Jax said was true…and the video tape confirmed it. It was from the gas station. Tig got it from the clerk before…" He did not need to finish. They both witnessed the end result.

Katherine was no longer certain what to think anymore. So many thoughts flowed through her head that she could not focus and in fact thought of nothing. It was a mixed blessing. While she did not have to think of the terrible things now, eventually her mind would sort them out and she would have to face them. When that time came, it would be best not to be around anyone. She had embarrassed herself enough times already.

Standing up, Katherine walked over to the driver's side door, moving slowly, unsure of where she stepped. It seemed like the whole world was out to get her, she had to be careful.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Juice asked, standing up as well. "I could follow on my bike."

"No, that's okay. I think you and I have caused enough damage. Nothing good seems to happen when we're together."

Juice nodded, a bit surprised at how disappointed he felt. He was about to walk away when he suddenly felt her arms wrap around him. Without realizing it at first, his arms quickly reciprocated, squeezing her body tightly against his. Her face was buried in his chest, leaving him free to smell her hair. It was like strawberries; it always had been.

"Thank you for being there anyway." She mumbled, looking up at him. Juice tried to ignore the skipped beat of his heart as he stared at her hazel eyes. He did not know what made him feel this way and he did not want to. There were lines that even a Son was unwilling to cross and this was one of them, no matter how he felt.

Katherine left him then, getting into the car. He watched as she managed to get the car off the curb without any damage and drove down the street. He turned back to the clubhouse, the feeling that someone had watched them heavy on his shoulders. The last thing he needed was for anyone else to think that they were involved.

When she felt that she was a safe distance away, Katherine pulled her cell phone out. Fortunately for her, it was one of the few things that she had forgotten at her brother's house. She stared at it a while, debating whether or not she should dial those familiar digits. A while ago, she had sworn to never go back and now she was on the verge of breaking that promise, but she needed to know.

Holding the phone to her ear, she waited anxiously for the rings to turn into a recorded message, for a sign that she did not need to do this. Unfortunately the owner picked up. It was now or never.

"Angel? It's Katherine. Yeah, I know. It has been a while…"

* * *

Just saw an episode of CSI: Miami with Juice and Tig in it. I giggled for a second until Juice died in acid…then I was sad. :'(


	5. Connection

Wow...it's been a while. I am so sorry it has taken me so long. I keep getting distracted by this thing called life and then I had to completely start over the chapter. This story is very complicated and then I realized I wrote something that made no sense oncesoever, but I've fixed it now! I am done! WHOO! Thanks to everyone that sticks around through these dry spells.

Thanks to everyone who gave me such great reviews! It means so much to me!

**Angel JJK **That would be a great idea but the problem is, if she was with Angel from Four Brothers, she would never have returned to Charming. There is no leaving Tyrese. :)

Author's Note: I named the character Angel after someone I know from basic training because I'm unorginal like that.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter Five: Connection**

The thrumming of her fingertips on the table top started to sound like the beat of a song she knew. It would have been her fingernails making the sound but over the past horrifically drawn out half hour she had gnawed them off, a habit she had not seen since junior high. She constantly gazed out the window at the empty street or at her small cup of coffee, debating whether or not to start drinking from it after it had been filled a third time.

How long had it been since they had seen one another? The term 'a while' hardly covered it. She ought to know how long; she used to have the exact number of days down. Three years? Was that it? Somewhere along that line, yes. That had to be long enough, enough time to heal old wounds, repair damages. Then again, their relationship had not exactly been a textbook one. Some things would be stuck with her forever. How she had a tendency for those.

Perhaps she would not have been so nervous if they were meeting anywhere but Charming. After all, what she was doing could be considered treason. She shuddered at the thought of what the men would think. To lose their help would be devastating but this was necessary. She needed answers and the only way to get them was to talk to the only Mayan she knew.

Lost in her thoughts, Katherine finally focused on the cooling, dark liquid in the cup. Reflected in its surface was a familiar face. It did not look happy or angered, merely stoic.

Katherine jumped, causing the cup to shake slightly and spill some of its contents.

"Jesus, Angel, don't do that," she said, staring at the table, unwilling to look him in the face just yet. The memories of that last day returned to her already. Both of them were in tears at one point, knowing it was right but not liking it all the same. She continued her memorization of the lines in the wood until he sat across from her, feet accidentally bumping into her own and pulling back quickly.

"Why did you call?" he asked, voice sounding almost pained, "Why did you have to call?"

"I was desperate," Katherine replied, "And I didn't expect you to have the same number still."

"I didn't think you'd kept it." Delete it from her phone or not, Katherine could not forget his number no matter how hard she tried. It was cemented in there, coming as easily as the one from that stupid song.

Katherine looked up, unwillingly still. There he was: Angel Cancel, that boy she had met in college. He had an ego that was relatively the same as any other guy his age, only he had more charm and executed his lines well. She gave him a shot and what resulted was either the best or worst thing that had ever happened to her, at least until recently. He had been very sweet then and kind. Perhaps he still was but there was a coolness about him as well. Somehow she wanted to blame herself for that.

Angel took her hands in his. Katherine allowed him to hold onto them though she attempted not to feel his touch.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you," he spoke softly but she could feel the repressed anger behind it. "I'd go kill the man right now if you could point him out for me. I looked into it and like I told you, it wasn't the Mayans."

"How can I trust you?" Katherine asked. The look on his face, which contained more concern now, did not change.

"I came here, didn't I?"

Katherine nodded. "But there was a video. They said it was Mayans."

She could hear the chuckle buried deep in his throat. "You suspect it, call me to confirm it and when I do, you suddenly disagree. Katherine Hale, you haven't changed one bit." Seeing the laughter in his deep brown eyes, Katherine felt a pressure lift off of her. Suddenly she was back in a familiar time where things were good and she was safe, but the feeling faded quickly as a seriousness returned to them. "Do you have the tape?"

"No, why would you even think that…" Katherine paused, "Actually, yes…yes I do." Her brother had brought it home, watched it when he thought she was not awake. Every time she caught him with it, there were always a few bottles lying around him. He did not drink very often, had seen too many examples of what it did to people, but it was less surprising than the fact he had actually taken evidence from the locker at the station. There were times she wondered if he changed more than her because of it all. "It's back at my place."

The thought of taking Angel back to where she stayed triggered different memories but she forced those back. This was hardly a time to think on such things. Too much had happened. There was no need to linger.

They were in the parking lot of the small diner about to hop inside his old Mustang when it happened. Katherine had never heard the sound of their bikes, had no idea that they were there. She had simply looked down at the rusting door on the passenger's side only to look up to find a fist colliding with Angel's face connected to an angry, cursing, Scottish accent. The two scuffled on the pavement a while before emerging separately, each with their own knife drawn.

"Stop it!" Katherine shouted, jumping between Chibs and Angel, feeling the déjà vu of the situation.

"What are ya doin, Kat? Get out of the way!" Chibs shouted, looking to make his way around her. She could feel Angel trying to pull her away but instead Katherine took a step back toward him, pushing down the arm with the knife.

"No," she replied, cold and determined. There would be no more fighting on account of her.

Chibs hesitated a moment, clearly confused by her behavior. "Do ya know who he is, Kat?"

"I know exactly who he is."

"Then do you know this little bastard tried to kill me?" Chibs asked, pointing with his knife, stepping forward.

"Only as much as you, Puto," Angel replied for her, finally moving Katherine out of the way so they could fight once again. She attempted to make the fight stop several times but only continued to be pushed aside, too weak to make any difference. Her relief came in the form of Jax and Juice, though for a moment she only thought they were going to engage in the fight as well. Instead, Jax pulled Chibs away while Juice moved Angel, though not as nicely as his counterpart. He more or less showed Angel to the ground and made sure he would not get up again.

"Not here, Chibs," Jax whispered into his friend's ear, "Not now."

While Jax attempted to play negotiator, Katherine was boring holes into Juice's skull with her agitated stare. Juice, who hardly seemed to notice her presence, was not so subtly pointing his pistol between Angel's eyes. They were lucky. Angel had parked to the side of the café instead of in front, to avoid detection. The windows were boarded on this side and they were hidden by a rather large truck. Sometimes it seemed the only thing that kept these men on the streets was their dumb luck.

"Juice, please put the gun away. He's not going to do anything." Katherine did not need to look at Angel to confirm her statement was true. He may have had his moments, but he was not stupid. Juice, however, was hearing none of it. Instead he shot her a quick look, one filled with anger and a hint of betrayal, which she could not blame him for, and returned to watching the sights of his pistol, fingers slightly tighter on the trigger.

With Chibs now calm, or at least less aggressive than before, Jax turned to Katherine. He walked forward, grabbed her by the arm and began to pull her away from the group. "We need to have a talk."

Katherine resisted. "Wait, what about Angel? They're going to kill him."

"No they aren't," Jax said, though not very reassuring, "Not yet."

They walked a good twenty feet before standing behind a van, out of sight to everyone. Jax took a while to speak, trying to compose himself. Katherine had never seen him so angry before, especially toward her. It did not frighten her, not even the least bit of worry came from it. She did what she had to do and if that meant going behind the club's back, then so be it. She was not a member; she supposed she was a kind of hypocrite like that.

"Would you care to explain," Jax started, "because I don't know where to begin."

Katherine sighed. "I know how this looks, how this is," she added after receiving a look from Jax, "but you have to trust me, it's for the best. I…I need him. He told me the Mayans had nothing to do with…this."

"Of course he's gonna say they had nothing to do with it, he is one! For all we know, he did this to you."

"Don't you say that!" Katherine shouted, hitting Jax on the shoulder, though she did wish it was his face. "Angel would never do that."

"How do you know?"

She paused. "He was my boyfriend for a time. It was back in college, before he got into any of that biker business, I promise."

Jax looked ready to punch something. He held his hands high in the air, and walked around a bit, calming down again. Things were getting too complicated. They had enough on their plate as it is and then Katherine had to go do some investigating herself. Of course, he knew he could not blame her. If she did not get her annoying level of curiosity from her own family, then Gemma had rubbed something off on her. Maybe telling her that they thought it was the Mayans was a bad idea after all, especially since he had his own doubts about their guilt. However, this was hardly the way he would have gone about solving it.

"Look, he took a big risk coming here. I just want to show him the tape and he'll be gone."

Jax took a deep breath and looked at her. "You better hope you're right."

. . .

The car had been silent for a while, the revving of the engine the only thing they could hear. When the Mustang came to life, there had been some Spanish rap blaring out of the speakers but Angel quickly shut it off. He remembered how much she hated it, as well as the many arguments that had started when he openly mocked Enrique Iglesias nearly every other day.

Angel glanced at the rearview mirror, confirming the tail they had once more. He sighed and looked back to the road. There was nothing he hated more than being followed by one of the Sons and having nothing to do about it. Well, he could but that would not make Katherine very happy and after three years, that was still the last thing he wanted.

"He seemed eager to follow us," Angel observed, visualizing throwing on the brakes for their 'companion.'

Katherine shrugged. "Jax ordered him to. Why wouldn't he do what he was told?"

"I do what I'm told and you don't see me get on a bike as fast as that Tonto." He looked sideways at Katherine's glare. "Sorry."

"You're being ridiculous."

"And what's with his haircut? Man looks like a skunk."

Katherine had to laugh at this. "You know, last I checked before you shaved it all off, you were working one too." She touched his head when she said it, causing Angel to smile, as well as the tail to make a rare mistake on his bike.

"Looks like your friend is watching us," Angel said, nodding, grin wider.

"I guess so." Katherine replied, looking behind them, wishing that Juice was not there. Anyone else may have been fine, save for Chibs, but there was something about the techie for the Sons, something that she was not exactly uncomfortable with but that would not help her situation at all at the moment.

Her look lingered a bit too long for Angel's comfort. "You got a thing for the brown boys, huh?"

Katherine smacked him. "That's not funny."

They were quiet the rest of the ride, which added up to be a whole two minutes though it felt like twenty. All that Katherine could think about was the last time she had been in his Mustang, and how they had not been in two separate seats. She knew he would be thinking about it too, which was why his grip on the wheel seemed tighter than she remembered, why he was sitting straighter than she had ever seen him. Angel was the most relaxed driver on the planet, until today.

She almost thought it was funny when they were standing at the front door. Angel and Juice appeared to be glaring at each other, though it was difficult to tell through Juice's sunglasses. He was in his typical outfit: cut, t-shirt and dark jeans. Angel did not wear his cut for obvious reasons but there was no doubt in her mind that it was nearby. He wore a white shirt and khakis, something she had not seen him put on in a while. Frankly she was surprised he still owned a pair. Angel was a few inches taller than Juice and much more built but that did not seem to bother the Son. The funny part of it all, despite the fact that they had not gotten into a fight yet, was the thought of the look on her brother's face if he came home to this sight.

Juice seemed a bit hesitant to enter the home but soon found himself inside, looking at everything in the Hale household, a bit disappointed that it was about as normal as every other place on the street. He watched the two pop in the surveillance video, the same one he had watched over and over, memorizing each detail of it, trying to pick out something but always coming up with nothing. He watched as her shoulders began to shake slightly, saw Angel wrap his arm around her comfortingly. Then he felt it again, that same feeling in his chest from a few days before. He hated it, wished it would go away and had no idea how it even came to be.

Angel began to shake his head. He was at a loss for words. Seeing Katherine be taken like that chilled him to the very bone but made his blood boil at the same time. The fact that someone had tried to blame it on his crew only made things worse. The thought that any one of his brothers had done this was too much to comprehend. He normally would have killed anyone associated with this, but now they had made it even more personal.

"It wasn't the Mayans," Angel whispered, "I know the men and they aren't ours."

Juice snorted. "You really think we can believe that?"

"Does it look like I care about what you think?" Angel asked, turning to Juice.

"You should because convincing the Sons is the only thing that's going to get you out of Charming alive." Juice crossed his arms, standing his ground. Angel looked about ready to pound him into it. Katherine gave them both looks but they could not be angered ones. She understood where they were coming from; she only wished that they would stop being stubborn. That trait, of course, stemmed from more than opposing clubs.

"Alright," Angel said after a while. "Say my club did kidnap, torture, and leave for dead my ex-girlfriend. What the hell would we get out of it?"

There was a silence. He had a point. It not only dawned on Juice but on Katherine as well. Even something in what he just said hit Angel. They all began to think it over before Angel interrupted the silence.

"I have to get out of here," he said. "My excuse won't hold up forever." Katherine followed Angel to the door. Juice took one step forward and tried not to watch but curiosity got the better of him. It looked as though they would have one of those soppy moments that the chick flicks had, reminiscing, tears and all, but before they had that moment, Angel opened the door and Juice saw what was on the other side: a car, a man and an automatic weapon.

"Get down!" he shouted, making a move for the two. Acting on an instinct Juice did not think he had, Angel pushed Katherine toward him before attempting anything for himself. Juice grabbed Katherine and brought her to the floor, pulling his body over hers to keep her safe. Gunfire erupted, nearly drowning Katherine's screams but they were all Juice could hear. Windows broke, spraying glass over them, causing Juice to cling tighter to her.

A split second after silence finally fell, the sound of screeching tires could be heard. Instantly Juice was on his feet, running over the motionless body of Angel Cancel and out the doorway. He ran after the car, firing shots in its direction, praying to God he would get lucky. Apparently he was deserving of an answer because one crashed through the windshield, hitting the shooter in the back of the head. The horn blared as his head smashed into the steering wheel. It took a while but the vehicle eventually spun out of control, only stopping when it collided with a tree.

Juice doubled over then, breathing hard, the adrenaline too much for his body to handle. He sat that way for a while before remembering he was not alone. Running again, Juice headed back to the house where he found Katherine kneeling over Angel, using a blanket to stop the bleeding in vain. He looked around quickly. The windows were gone; there were holes all over the house. Angel's blood sprayed the entryway, covered the floor and now Katherine's clothes. Surprisingly he was still alive, though all that came out of his mouth were mumbles.

Pulling out his phone, Juice dialed a number, thinking back to what else had happened not so long ago, when she had spoken to him.

_Nothing good seems to happen when we're together._

How true this seemed now.

Jax answered the phone, expecting to hear some kind of detailed account of how the two had gotten into a fight. When Juice told him what had really happened, he was silent a moment before telling him what to do, something that Juice whole heartedly agreed with and may have actually done anyway.

Quickly, though reluctantly, Juice grabbed Katherine's arm. "We gotta get out of here."

"No, no…I can't leave him!" Katherine managed to shout between sobs.

"We can't stay!"

"Yes, because you wouldn't care if he dies, would you!" Katherine looked up at Juice, her eyes already red from tears. There was hatred in them and it struck him hard but he was not about to let the girl have her way.

"No, I don't," Juice replied, pulling her up with one jerk. "I care if you die." He was in his element. When the action was at its highest and death might be the next move, all inhibitions were nonexistent and the man that most knew disappeared for a moment.

He dragged her out across the lawn and to his bike. The tires on both machines were not slashed like he had expected and it almost tempted him to take the car instead but he did not want to search Angel for the keys, if only for Katherine's sake. He took his cut off quickly, not certain how much good that was going to do him, and gave it to Katherine, who seemed to cling to it like a child to their blanket.

Swinging onto his bike, Juice offered his hand to Katherine, suddenly bringing up memories of picking her up from school when she was younger. She had been pretty then but she was beautiful now, a woman grown up and forced to go through more in the last few weeks than any of them had experienced in a lifetime. The last time he had picked her up on a bike, she had a giant grin on her face and now she was on the verge of breaking down. Someone had tried to kill her twice. In more ways than one, this bike ride was not going to be the same.

. . .

They had stopped at a gas station about a half hour from town. Katherine stayed by the bike, peeling off layers of clothing to find a black shirt that had little blood on it, or at least little visible blood. She wrapped her arms around her knees and sat in the little shade the bike provided until Juice came back from paying for gas.

Katherine jumped when she heard someone sitting next to her, nearly stood ready to take off until they grabbed her arm. It was Juice. Of course it was. Why would it not be him? Then again, her last gas station experience was not the greatest.

"Did you…did you kill him?" Katherine asked after a while, not turning in his direction. Juice took a breath, thinking. He had not stopped by the car, knew whatever evidence was there would be given to the Sons by Unser but he assumed that the man was indeed dead. Not many people could survive a blow to the head and even if he did, the crash would have finished him off. Still, he did not feel that he could tell her.

"I don't know," he replied, glancing at her quickly but turning away. Katherine knew he was lying, that was one thing he could be certain about.

"How many people have you killed?"

Juice thought about it a while, reliving every moment he could remember. He did not know why he had to; he knew the exact number. It was engraved into his memory. Every detail of those nights were as easy to recall as his parents names or the phone number he dialed most often.

"Two," he said quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katherine turn. Maybe she was surprised that he would admit it to her, or that the number was so low. "I guess I just got lucky."

Another silence fell though Juice could have sworn he heard Katherine softly repeat the word 'lucky.' They sat there for a bit longer, Juice now watching her. She was shaking; it was obvious. He wanted to do something but he was not sure what. One part told him to get closer, try to talk to her, even hold her while another part said stay back. He could not get past how familiar this all looked, them both sitting on the ground with her on the edge of something devastating. Was this all that they were destined for?

"We have to go." Juice said after a while. Katherine nodded and let him help her up, crawling onto the bike after him. At first she had not wanted to hold onto him but she had given in and now wrapped her arms around him tightly. He had given her his helmet since he did not have another one and now he could feel the edges of it burrowing into his shoulder. He did not mind the feeling, did not mind anything she did.

"Where are we going?"

"The cabin. Until this all blows over, Jax said it'd be best to keep you there."

"And if it doesn't blow over?" The motorcycle came to life in response and before she knew it, the two were on the road again.

* * *

I know I'm mean...but that's why you love me! :D


	6. Hiding

Holy Crap, it has been WAAAAYYYYY too long. My apologies over and over again for the wait. School and the Guard and finances and all that fun stuff in reality really messed up my writing. Worst Writer's block ever! Sorry, sorry, sorry. I am still here!

That being said, this chapter is probably pretty weak. Once I get back into the rhythm of things, they'll pick up, I promise.

And for everyone that has seen Season 3 so far, or at least the first episode, you probably heard a faint scream that night of me going: CRAP! Now I have to write this into the story! Needless to say, that was what upset me most. :D

Enjoy!

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**Chapter Six: Hiding**

Juice shut his phone and stared at it a while. He was not going to say that he loathed the message he just received but neither was he going to say he was satisfied by it. For the sake of Katherine he would tolerate the fact that he now owned, nothing more. Even that, however, was bothering him.

Piney Winston was watching him pace back and forth in the kitchen from the rocking chair, a cigarette lit and, once again, dangerously close to his source of oxygen. He could piece the story together from the bits he had heard Juice shout out. Shit was starting to hit the fan. He examined the burning last half of his smoke carefully, wondering if now would be the best time for all those warnings people had given him over this to finally happen, a short while of pain to be rid of the misery that was to come. It was tempting.

Putting out his cigarette, Piney cleared his throat, turning quickly to Opie before speaking. "Are you going to tell her?"

Sighing, Juice leaned against the counter, avoiding looking at father and son. He knew he would have to at some point but after all that had happened, he did not feel like bothering her, even for something such as this. Certainly merely looking at him would cause her to think the worst of the situation.

He glanced at the door. "I guess I have to."

"It's not your fault, Juice," Opie said.

Juice had to laugh at that as he rounded the counter, shaking his head in disbelief. They would not understand nor did he really want them too. They could look at him strangely all they wanted; they did it anyway.

The room was dead silent when he entered. There was no sobbing, no sound of a reacting movement, not even breathing. He looked around for Katherine but the place seemed untouched by her, despite the fact he had witnessed her walking into it, slamming the door so hard a picture had fallen off the wall. Quickly checking the other side of the bed and the closet, he thought for a moment that she may have escaped through the window, though it looked as though it had not been opened in years, a thick coat of dust covering the glass.

Standing still for a moment, Juice thought over where she could have possibly disappeared to. Looking at the bed, he noted how high up it was. Things clicked rather quickly but he avoided checking the answer for a moment. It seemed a rather ridiculous thing to him. Getting down on his knees, Juice bent over and peered underneath the bed.

There in the darkness was an even more shaded form, its silhouette barely touched by the light on the other side. The breathing that had been absent earlier was present now, soft and wavering but still there. She was facing the mattress, staring endlessly into the fabric.

"Hey." It was all that came to mind. He waited patiently for some kind of response and when none came, he lied down on the floor. One would come eventually and he would be there when it did.

"You know, the first night I came home, I slept under my bed," Katherine finally replied, head turning his way. "It was the only place I felt safe, close spaces, no one can grab me all of a sudden."

"So why are you under there now?"

She sighed, perhaps thinking of an answer. "Needed to think, needed to feel safe again, unfortunately."

"You know, you're safe here, Katherine."

"Am I?"

Juice looked hard at her a moment, understanding where she was coming from but slightly disappointed in her all the same. "Yes."

He watched her eyes search his, looking for any sort of lie inside; he knew she would find none. Thinking back over everything, he did not think he could lie to her. She would always catch it; she could see straight through him. He let her. It was a dangerous thing letting someone in on your thoughts but he was going to let it run for now. He liked it this way.

Katherine still seemed so uncertain, so frightened at the situation. He wished there was a way to ensure her it was all going to get better, wished there was a way to tell her that the Sons would not let anything else happen to her, that he would not let anything else happen. He was looking at the bed when she caught it.

"You can't fit under here," Katherine said with a smile. He was happy to see it again.

"You're probably right," Juice replied, looking it over. "Anything interesting under there?"

Katherine looked up. "There's a nine millimeter at my head and a Winchester at my feet."

There was a pause. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Again there was silence but it was not an uncomfortable one. He did not want to change that. Staying there just like they were would be good enough for him, but he had to tell her. It would make her happy, no matter what he thought about it.

"Could you come out from under there?" Juice asked, getting onto his knees. "I've got something to tell you." He did not need to see her face to know the change that overtook her. The air in the room seemed to drop dramatically, thickening with anticipation and worry. He leaned against the closet until she had come out from underneath and straightened herself up. She appeared to be bracing herself for the worst.

Katherine crossed her arms. "So…what did you hear?"

"Jax talked to Tara and it turns out that Angel is fine. The rounds missed a lot of vital areas so he's stable and might actually be able to pull through."

To see her face light up as it did should have made Juice happy, and somewhere inside it probably did, but at the moment all he could feel was disappointment. He wished it would go away, go back to the impassiveness he normally had, but when her face fell again, he felt the concern for her he had felt before. It was growing tiresome.

"That means they're going to be after him," Katherine said with a distant tone in her voice. "Juice, you can't let them get to him."

It did not take long for him to understand everything. Even if the shooter was not targeting Angel, eventually the Mayans would find out about where there missing man had gone and they would be none too happy. Terrible for the man, but Juice hardly cared if he died or not. One less Mayan was definitely not a bad thing.

Juice gave Katherine an incredulous look. "We're not the police department. We don't protect anyone because someone out there wants them. This is a Mayan we're talking about. He's lucky one of our guys didn't do the job."

For some reason he had expected some big reaction. He pictured her yelling and verbally attacking him and the club but that did not happen. She nodded, slightly disappointed but she understood his reasoning; she knew what kind of a spot she was in.

"Could you at least, I don't know, have someone check on him? I mean, maybe not one of the guys but just someone at the hospital or…I don't know," Katherine paused, searching for words. "It's just, I called him and I'm the reason he's in the hospital right now. And please, don't try to tell me it's not my fault because it's fairly obvious he would not have been in town if I had not asked."

Juice said nothing for a while, simply watched Katherine as she dealt with whatever was going on in her head at the moment. While he did not want to admit it, he knew it was her fault, in some small way, that Angel had been hurt. He also knew that if she had not said anything, he would have argued against that point. All of this started with someone else. The fact that she was just trying to deal with it left her with no fault in his book, but since when did anything he thought count?

"I'll see what I can do," he said, sighing, "but I can't guarantee anything."

Her smile returned. It was smaller than before but the gratitude reflected in her eyes all but made up for it. She crossed the room in a few short steps and once again embraced Juice in a hug. The same feelings from before arose in him once again and he tried his hardest to keep them down, keep them unknown to her. Things were complicated to say the least. Whatever he felt now, for a reason he could still not explain, could not happen. The line was still there.

"I'm always thanking you, aren't I?" she mumbled over his shoulder, playing with a piece of his cut that she could reach.

He chuckled slightly. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, I guess it's called for." He could feel her turn to him. "Thank you."

"Hey, it's not a problem," Juice replied, trying to sound as casual as he could, bringing another smile to Katherine's face. He backed up slowly, escaping from her embrace despite the protests in his head. "I have to go. Jax wants me back there."

He did not pay attention to her mumbled response or her disappointed look as he left the room. All he did was set his sights on the outside door and make a beeline toward it, not acknowledging anyone else in the cabin. He needed to get out before he did something stupid that he would regret.

. . .

Katherine took a swig from the beer bottle in her hand, watching the tree line in the distance. She had sat inside her small sanctuary for a little while longer but with the news of Angel releasing the burden upon her shoulders, she felt a little too confined in the room. She was anxious, afraid, needed to calm herself down. The only reasonable option at the time was the drink in her hand. It did not seem to have much of an effect at the moment but maybe after a few more.

The door opened and Opie joined her outside, a drink in his hand as well. "Didn't think you would leave."

"Well, when it comes to humor, I'm not up to your dad's caliber," Katherine replied, watching Opie smirk.

"War and sex jokes. I never followed much either."

She let a silence drag out before asking a question that had been bothering her. "What brought you back, Opie?" He looked at her slightly confused but she could tell it was just a cover; he knew exactly what she was talking about. "I remember talking to David and he all but jumped for joy when he mentioned you not riding with them anymore."

Opie sighed. Clearly it was still a debated subject at home. Katherine knew Donna fairly well. She was a sweet woman that loved her husband but she did not love the job that he came with. When it got him thrown in prison, it must have killed her. Keeping him out of it again would be her choice as well.

"I grew up with this life," Opie replied, drinking. "It's hard to get away from and sometimes I don't think I want to." Katherine nodded. It made sense. "And what about you?"

"Me?"

"What makes the sister of the most upstanding citizen of Charming a close associate with the biker gang he feels destined to put away?"

This made Katherine think for a moment. "Besides the fact I practically grew up with you guys?"

"So did your brothers."

"They didn't get watched over by Gemma." She paused. "I don't know. I guess I just see the big picture. David sees the less than legal side of the Sons, as he should, it's his job but for all the bad things, you do bring a lot of good into Charming. Do you really think this city would be the way it is if it weren't for you guys? I tell you what, most guys aren't willing to do anything around here because they're afraid you'll beat them in the dead of night."

"Is that supposed to justify us?" Opie asked, sounding particularly interested in her answers.

Katherine shook her head. "I'm not justifying anything. I wish you wouldn't do everything that you do but who am I to say anything? I'm just the girl that owes more than she can imagine to the biker gang."

Opie shook his head. "You don't owe us anything."

"You would say that."

The two continued conversing until well after nightfall when a vehicle came by. Chibs and Half-Sack hopped out, looking rather disgusted. Opie sighed, tossing his bottle and walking toward the two. The door opened again and Piney stuck his head out to look at the new arrivals, the grimace set on his face seeming to deepen.

"I'd rather go to prison than hafta do tha again," Chibs said, hunching over slightly. The Prospect gave him a look that asked what work he did. Katherine straightened up, her curiosity officially aroused.

"So what now?" Opie asked, approaching Chibs.

"Well, we've got to clean'em, hopefully before Clay gets here," Chibs replied, looking even more repulsed at the thought of what he had to do.

"Clean them?" Piney asked, stepping out of the cabin. "What the hell did you transport them in?"

Half-Sack walked past him. "Let's just say you had something to do with it."

"Can I help?" Katherine asked. The others suddenly remembered that someone else was there and they turned to her with less than innocent looks etched upon their faces. They had done something wrong, something big. She could see the internal debates as clearly as if they were speaking them aloud. Should they trust her? Should she even know as much as she did? How much did she know?

She stepped toward Opie. "I can safely assume it's guns…and that there's plenty in a not too good condition. You clearly need help, unless I'm confusing looks of relief with exasperation, and I'm offering it."

Opie sighed. "Look, you even knowing that we have guns makes you too involved. You know any more than that, it's asking for trouble. Once you even know what kind we have," he paused for a moment as he glanced at Piney. "You'll know the story. We can't risk that."

Katherine shook her head. "I owe you."

Chibs stepped up. "No ya don't, Kat."

"Yes I do," she replied, looking at each member that was out there. "And I don't care what you say, I want to help you guys. The last thing my brother wants to do is arrest me."

Their silence was an admission that she had some kind of point and the continuance of it meant that they were still unwilling to put her in that kind of situation. She understood their hesitation but she also understood that they really needed help. What they did may not have been the most acceptable thing but, like she had stated before, the Sons were vital to the town, whether her brother liked it or not.

"Look, we can stand here arguing about it all night or we can get some work done. By the way you were talking, Clay is going to be up here rather shortly, so let's not disappoint." Katherine began a rather confident walk over to the vehicle, turning in no one's direction to see the looks upon their faces. She could hardly care about what they thought now. Each of them should have learned that you can't change the mind of a determined woman. Though as she got closer to it and could smell what the men were all dreading, a small part of her wished she was not so ambitious.

* * *

Okay, the beginning was pretty good but at about the middle you could feel it falling flat. That's where the block kicked in. Oh, and Inception which had me concentrating on nothing but it for the longest time. Sorry, shutting up. It's late, I'm hyper. :D


	7. Betrayals of Trust

Words cannot describe how terrible I feel for not updating this. Somehow people were still adding this story to their alerts and it was you people that encouraged me to keep going, that and the new season. It's making me so nervous.

Okay, since it has been so long, this story is going to end up quite different from what it was originally going to be. I believe it's improved but that's for you to decide so this chapter is more or less going to be awkward because the first part was actually written a long time ago but I did not want to get rid of it. It's extra long too. Hope you like that.

So, if you're still reading. Thank you.

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**Chapter Seven: Betrayals of Trust**

Katherine could not remember how long she had been in the shower, ice cold water beating down on her bare back, somehow still evoking a little pain from her scars. It was not the smell she was trying to get rid of for that had actually disappeared quite quickly. No, it was her thoughts that occupied her, taking time and twisting it so she had no idea what it was, numbing her senses so she could not notice how she shivered under the streaming water.

She kept thinking over the decision she had made earlier. It was nothing really, at least in comparison to what the Sons did normally, but to her family she may as well have shot someone. All her life, she had made decisions that had complicated things, that would threaten to tear her apart in the future. Far too often she had felt the harsh consequences of these decisions and yet here she was, making the same mistake again. How many times did she have to hurt, how many others would have to share her pain before she stopped?

Someone had knocked on the door. That was what woke her up. She had quickly shut off the shower and dressed, remembering that she was taking up the only bathroom in the building and there were several individuals in the next room, though none were visible when she headed back to her room. They must have wanted to give her some privacy, or avoid talking to her. There had definitely been some awkward silences with her. Katherine had not minded. It was understandable. She was not exactly someone they would have normally talked to and now she had been forced upon them. They did not need to try to make her feel welcome. She knew she was just extra weight.

She felt so confined in her room, restless. The only thing available for entertainment was sleep and that was certainly not on her to do list. Katherine was afraid of what she would see tonight. There were so many possible things that she could see, none that she would ever wish to encounter. Some time sleep would take her and she would have to face them but not tonight. Tonight she was in control.

Grabbing her phone that sat on the night stand, Katherine opened it up and stared at it. There were a million things she wished to do. Call her brother. God only knew how he was freaking out right now. Him, and maybe Juice if he had run into the guy. No doubt he thought they had something to do with a near dead Mayan in his house. No, she would not call. There were too many questions that she was going to have to answer. Finding out that his sister was running around with members from two biker gangs was, to put lightly, not going to sit well with him.

Maybe she could find a way to check up on Angel. No, that would not do much good either. She knew how he was, unless he had died in the last couple hours which seemed completely possible. Right now, she really did not want to know, not when the only people for comfort were a bunch of emotionally awkward bikers.

Opening her phone, she began to type a message and sent it. She was quite surprised that she had reception out here, wherever here was. Her phone was silent for some time but eventually the screen lit up and a familiar buzzing feeling moved her hand. The letters on the screen blinked 'Juice.' She opened it slowly:

_He's fine._

She stared at it for a very long time, understanding what those two words meant. Juice did not get anyone to watch over Angel. He was doing it himself; he was watching over his enemy for her. She was not certain about what kind of repercussions that could inflict upon him or the club but she was sure that none of it could be good. If she knew anything about the Sons, things like this would never be taken lightly. It only furthered the theory that had she had been playing around with for some time: Juice did care for her, at a level that was beyond any of the others.

Scary thing was, she could not deny that she felt the same.

It did not make any sense. They had not seen or heard from one another in six years and before that they were not exactly the closest of friends, at least before prom. If anything, they should have felt like complete strangers toward one another, not the exact opposite. This was a problem and she knew it, had been a problem for some time now. She fell too hard too fast. That was how Angel ended up in the hospital. That was how she had done a lot of things she regretted. She could not do it anymore. It was just too dangerous.

Katherine returned to staring at the message for a good few minutes, clicking the keypad every time it started to go dark. It was certainly a strange response to: you doing alright? Not only was Juice watching him, he seemed to be quite mad at himself for doing it. She began to type back.

_I meant you, idiot._

It was appropriately harsh. Hopefully he found humor in the text, however slight it was.

Buzz.

_Oh. Yeah, me too._

She managed a faint smile, picturing Juice stuttering in his ever awkward way. It may have been the quality she loved most about him. His exterior was a hard biker, willing to do anything under the sun for his club but inside, he was an antisocial techie that did not exactly have the greatest set of skills when it came to women. It made him so much more human to her.

Sighing, Katherine went over to the bed and collapsed on it, flipping over eventually so she could stare at the ceiling. So many thoughts were running through her mind, including one wondering how often the boys used those guns that were just a foot underneath her.

* * *

Katherine tried not to look him in the eye. The top of her skull was burning under his gaze. The room was pulsating with his anger; she thought she could actually hear the beat of it. She really should not be ashamed of what she had done in the past. After all she was an adult and was allowed to choose who she wanted to be with. But being raised in a family as morally conscious as hers, Katherine always felt that guilt of doing something she knew was wrong. She felt the weight of her family's judgment, a great burden if there ever was one.

"You want to run that by me again?"

"You heard what I said, David." She was beginning to wish they had never brought her back, then she would not have had to answer his questions. He practically interrogated her and now any concern he had for her well being when she first returned seemed to have been washed away.

Hale was silent a moment but his breathing was heavy. Clearly he was trying to calm himself. He had a better chance of turning into the Hulk.

Her brother had been waiting for her the moment they entered the Teller-Morrow parking lot. Out of the kindness of their hearts, or their excessive curiosity, the Sons let the two have their private talk in the shop's office. If she peered out the windows, Katherine could not see anyone but she had a feeling someone was out there. Hell, maybe they had the room bugged. That seemed like something up Juice's alley.

"What…why would…Katherine, you willingly brought a Mayan to Charming."

"I know," she replied softly, watching her toes on the floor as they scrunched up underneath her feet. She felt like a child again being reprimanded by her parents. Well, at least one of them had to get it right.

"Do you know? Really? Because someone who hangs out with the Sons as much as you do would know that they aren't exactly on friendly terms with the Mayans. You could have caused a war in Charming!"

"I know, David! I know!" Katherine shouted, standing up to look her brother in the eye. Hales had short fuses and no amount of guilt could put out the fire. "Hindsight is 20/20, I get it, alright? But I had to know, I just had to."

"Had to know what?" Again with the questions. She was so sick of having to answer to people.

"I had to know if the Mayans really did it."

"Of course they did, Katherine. It's on the tape."

"Angel said otherwise."

"Angel Cancel is one of them!" Hale grabbed her arms and shook her slightly, as though it could get some sense into her head. "Why would you believe him? Because you-" He stopped, unable to bring himself to say it.

"Because I what, David? Say it." All she received was silence. "Because I dated him. That's right, your sister dated the biker but he wasn't a Mayan then David! He was just another guy that liked motorcycles!"

"A guy doesn't join a group like that unless he has interest in what they're doing."

Katherine's eyes narrowed. "You really going to do this, David? Why don't you judge me based on who I am instead of who I've been out with?"

There was another long pause. Hale appeared to be in thought. She did not like how long it took him to respond.

"I don't know who you are anymore, Kat."

Something shattered within. She soon came to realize that it was her faith in her big brother. He was the only one she could talk to. He was not Jacob; he did not see dollar signs. But now she was not sure what he was. Seems they both had their doubts.

Biting her lip to keep from crying, because she was so tired of being that person, Katherine wriggled out of her brother's grip. She stormed out of the office, walking past the crowd that was still gathered just outside the clubhouse. She tried very hard to ignore the 'didn't see that coming' comment that came from Tig but could not. It was not how things were supposed to happen. Maybe that was why she was so angry at him.

Or maybe it was because he was right.

* * *

After changing into some new clothes and taking a ridiculously slow walk to the hospital, Katherine finally found the room that Angel was staying in. Sure enough Juice was there, lurking in the hallways, trying not to be so obvious. The thing was a Son could never blend in to a hospital no matter how hard he tried, unless he was actually the patient.

Rolling up the sleeves on her jean jacket, Katherine slowly made her way toward him. He had settled down in a chair and was flipping through a tech magazine at a rate that suggested he had been through it several times already. It seemed that he did not notice her approach. Either that or he was just not in the mood to talk to her. She could believe that; she had been betraying everyone's confidence after all.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out as she stopped right in front of him. Juice looked up from his magazine, actually appearing surprised to see her. "All I've done so far is just create a bigger mess. I don't think and I'm selfish and I put a lot of people in danger and I'm sorry. I know how much you don't want to be here and I just forced it on you and I just…I…"

"Whoa, hang on Kat," Juice said, standing and grabbing her wrists, ceasing her rambling. "It's alright. I want to be here."

Katherine sighed. "Juice, I hear you're good at poker but don't expect me to believe that sack of lies."

Juice nodded. "Fine, but you didn't force me. It's my choice, my consequence."

"But it shouldn't be. You're right. He's a Mayan, you're a Son. The two of you don't mix. You can…you can leave if you want."

The grip on her wrists became firmer. It did not hurt but only seemed to be there to reassure her. "If you don't want me to, I'll stay."

Katherine looked into his brown eyes, clearly seeing the truth residing in them. She hated that he was so willing to, but at the same time she loved it. How was it he was so wrapped around her finger? And why was she leaning in closer?

"I can see the two of you, ya know," a weak voice, clearly Angel's, called from the room behind them. Both Juice and Katherine took a step back from one another, making the gap between them rather large. They smiled awkwardly at each other before Katherine ducked inside the room. Juice rubbed his face with his hand, shaking his head. What was he doing?

Angel Cancel was hardly recognizable. He was hooked up to all sorts of machines, had various bandages placed all over and small cuts and bruises too minor to be covered. All in all, he was a mess but that did not seem to break his spirit very much.

"That hurts, Kat. Here I am dying and you're out there flirting with the enemy."

Katherine sat in the chair beside his bed. "You're not dying and I wasn't flirting either."

Angel shook his head. "Say what you want, I know what I saw."

"You know, I didn't have to visit you," she replied, pretending to get up. Angel's arm whipped out so fast to grab her, it was like it had been there the entire time. She saw him wince in pain as he did so. "I'm sorry. If for one second I thought this would happen-"

"Don't apologize, Kat," Angel said, cutting her off. "It didn't really matter if I came or not. I'm a dead man anyway."

"What?"

Angel sighed. "Look, things have been hectic. Someone's trying to oust us from our territory. There's dissension in the club and I pissed a lot of guys off."

Something began to dawn on Katherine. "So, the shooting…"

"Had nothing to do with Charming, though I'm thinking the guys were hoping to pin it on the Sons. Get rid of their troubles, get the feds off their backs."

Katherine sat back in the chair, thinking over everything that had happened so far. She was silent for a good ten minutes but Angel did nothing to get her attention. He simply watched her disappear into another world. It was as though she began to shrink as she slowly discovered the gravity of it all, how she had stumbled onto something much larger than she could have anticipated. She had stepped right into the middle of a war.

"What happens now?" she asked, her voice hardly audible.

"Nothing," Angel replied, a seriousness in his voice she had not heard in some time. "You leave this hospital and never come back…and you take that Son with you."

Life seemed to come back to her. "What? No! They'll kill you!"

"Exactly."

"Look, Angel, if you think for one second that I'm going to leave you to your fate, you've got another thing coming."

She was about to leave, not exactly sure what she was going to do. Telling her brother to have someone watch him was not much of an option at the moment but before she could make up her mind, Angel grabbed her arm again. This time with strength she did not think he had at the moment. If she struggled, she might be able to break free but of course she was not going to do that to him.

"Listen to me, Kat." He spoke with authority, as though he was talking to someone in his club rather than his ex. "You got out, okay? Don't you dare get back into this or you're going to find yourself in this hospital a lot more often." He glanced to the doorway a moment. "I see the way you two act together. It's gonna end the same way, Kat. Just know that."

Angel let Katherine go, watching her as she moved to the doorway. She did not really want to leave but she had no idea what else to do. If she stayed, more people would die. So this was what it is like to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"You know you're not a fucking martyr, Angel."

"Never planned to be," he said with a wink. That was the final thing that pushed her out the door. She walked down the hallway with a purpose she had never known, doing all she could not to look back or she would never leave. She could hear Juice following behind her.

"Kat, what's going-"

"We're leaving, Juice."

"What do you mean? What happened in there?"

"Like you weren't listening. Just go, okay?"

Later that night, after many hours of pointless wandering, Katherine returned to her brother's house. They had cleaned the damage up quickly. In fact, if one was not looking for something, it looked as though nothing had happened there. When he opened the door, Katherine threw her arms around him and just stayed there. They spoke nothing of the day's events; they might never move on if they did.

Two days later, Angel Cancel was dead. Details surrounding his passing were not released.

* * *

Katherine did not tell anyone where she was going that day. It was a little surprising that Hale even let her out of his sights but there was not much he could do. He was needed at work and Charming was not exactly bursting at the seams with police officers. He could always hope that she would not do anything but deep down he felt that something else was coming.

Borrowing the neighbor's car again, Katherine drove herself out to Oakland where a funeral was being held. She watched from a distance under the shade of a tree. An older woman was crying over the coffin while a young man stood over her with a hand on her shoulder. His brother and mother. There was also a young woman there watching with a distant look on her face. She wondered if Angel possibly had another girl and then began to wonder how close they had become, how similar the two of them were.

Soon, Katherine became aware of a figure standing next to her. She did not turn to them. It was obvious to her who it was.

"Come to spit on his grave too?"

"Angel was a good man. I've come to pay my respects," Alvarez said, stepping forward into the sunlight.

Katherine turned to him, steel in her eyes. "He doesn't need your respect. You had him killed."

Alvarez grabbed her shoulder quickly, squeezing it so hard it was guaranteed to leave a bruise. He pulled her close enough that she could feel his breath and get a good look into his cold gaze. "You had better watch your words, Katherine. You're no longer in friendly territory. The Mayans don't welcome you with open arms anymore."

Katherine looked him up and down for some kind of bluff but she knew she would find none. Alvarez was the toughest President out there. Of that she had no doubt.

"We hear you're cozying up to the Sons now. Looks like your true colors are finally showing," said another Mayan who stepped up from behind them.

Katherine stole a sideways glance at him. It was the VP. She never did like the man. "No one asked for your idiotic input."

"What did you say?" The VP asked, stepping forward with murder in his eyes. Alvarez put his hand up, getting the man to back down but she could feel his fingers digging further into her collarbone. She bit her tongue to hide the pain.

"That mouth of yours always got you into trouble. Step out of line again and I'll silence it."

Katherine snorted, not looking afraid for one moment. "I dare you to try. You've got the feds all over you after what happened to me. I can testify that you had nothing to do with it but if you kill me…I hope you enjoy watching them tear your club apart. And then the Sons can have what's left."

Alvarez gave her a hard stare for a long time. He seemed to be considering just offing her right then and there. She had been a pain in his ass for a very long time but instead he let her go and called his men off, waiting until it was just the two of them again. He leaned in close. She did not even flinch.

"Tell me, Katherine," he whispered. "When the Sons find out how deep you were with us, what's to keep them from finishing the job?"

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I like reviews. If you would oblige me, that would be nice. I may not update too quickly. I am actually deployed right now so things are a little busy but I'm going to try to get back on track with this story. Thanks for reading!


	8. The Blurred Line

Hello everyone! Your response has been amazing! I think I got at least 15 story alerts. That is crazy! Thanks to everyone for that! You really helped the muse in her time of need!

I hope you guys like this chapter. It was a bit difficult to write and I hope I got the strange emotional aspect of it down. I'm pretty much satisfied with it. I hope you are too.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter Eight**

**The Blurred Line**

It had been nearly a month since Angel's funeral. A lot of things had happened in that amount of time. Fortunately, or perhaps miraculously, none of them had been bad. In fact, everything indicated that Katherine's life was headed for an up-swing, peaceful times and, best of all, normalcy. She had a lease on a house on the outskirts. It was a bit of a fixer upper but Katherine believed she could manage. The work was good and kept her mind off things. Katherine was able to get a job as well at the local school. Kenny Winston was actually in her class.

She had avoided SAMCRO like the plague. That meant no phone calls, no friendly visits and when the Oldsmobile finally took its last breath, it meant that she had to depend on her brother's mechanic skills, however rusty they were. Of course, in a small town like Charming, avoiding the Sons of Anarchy was like avoiding air. They were everywhere in town and accidental meetings were inevitable.

She had run into Opie a couple times when he happened to be charged to pick up the kids. He never said anything to her. Considering Donna's stance on the Sons, she could understand why. Chibs had been in the liquor store at the same time she was once. He tried to chat her up but she quickly made up an excuse and left. She had yet to return to the place. And then there was the time when Katherine had one last check up at the hospital. All of her injuries had healed successfully and her nightmares, while still disturbing her sleep, were slowly getting better. She had thought to take a glance at little Abel for a moment. It had been ages since she had seen a baby and to view such innocence in the midst of what many would consider evil was breathtaking. That, however, had been a big mistake. Grandma Gemma was in. Katherine nearly fell to the floor trying to avoid her gaze. If there was one person she did not want to talk to, it was Gemma. Well, her and Juice of course.

The Intelligence Officer had not made an appearance in her life since that day in the hospital before Angel died. Maybe he understood that she was trying to avoid them. After all, she truly believed that he had listened to their conversation. He would not be good at his job if he did not. Maybe she just was that lucky, however doubtful it seemed. Whichever it was, it did not matter. It was a good thing she did not see him, though for some reason it hurt every time she saw a motorcycle pass on the street and he was not the one on it. She hated it horribly. The Sons were a threat to her now and, in some small way, she was a threat to them. She needed to stay away and keep the secret safe.

It was a Friday afternoon. Katherine walked out the door of the school with Kenny in tow, listening to him describe his idea for an upcoming science project. She smiled as he started getting into more detail, coming up with new ideas on the spot. It felt great to hear a kid as excited for a subject as him.

Donna was waiting for him in the parking lot with Ellie already in the car. Giving him a friendly goodbye, Katherine watched Kenny climb in the car and instantly start bothering his sister. Donna rolled her eyes but let the kids stew for a while.

"How's it been going?" she asked, leaning against the car.

"You know, it's been good, really good. It's nice to have something to occupy myself with and Kenny's great. I've never seen a kid so interested in science," Katherine replied with a nod. The two had been exchanging words occasionally over the past month, mostly about mundane subjects but they were enjoyable enough. She had almost forgotten how much she missed normal small talk.

"That doesn't sound good for my bank account." Donna began to laugh, prompting Katherine to but she could see the seriousness in her eyes. She had heard a thing or two about their financial situation.

"Are you doing okay?"

Donna shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, we could be better but we'll get through it. I just…I just wish Opie wasn't a part of that stupid club anymore." She crossed her arms and seemed to shut herself off from the world for a moment. Katherine could not imagine what she was going through. Having a husband in the club where these days their chances of coming home were less than getting killed or going to jail seemed so daunting. Katherine had had a taste of it, more than she would care to admit, but she had never taken the full plunge. And having children with the person just seemed so wrong. No wonder Donna looked so sick.

The sound of an approaching motorcycle cut off Katherine's attempt at a heart-felt response. They both turned toward the noise, watching as none other than Juice wound his way through the parking lot, clearly looking for someone. It did not take long for him to spot the two of them and start heading in their direction.

"Do you need any help with him? I know you've been avoiding them," Donna said, throwing the Son a cool look as he approached.

Katherine shook her head. "This has been coming. I owe him some kind of explanation."

Donna put her hand on Katherine's shoulder. "Kat, you don't owe him anything."

This made Katherine smile. She had always liked Donna; she was a strong woman and never had any problems standing up to Gemma, a feat not so easily accomplished. Over the years she had looked out for her, a sort of older sister that she never had. Katherine could still remember the day that she tore Jacob a new one for being the world's worst older brother as she liked to call him. Seemed that she had pegged him right considering during the course of everything, she had received one somewhat concerned phone call and had not heard from him since.

"No, no I do. Trust me. It's okay."

Donna did not look so sure but she got in her car and pulled out of the lot anyway, shooting a last glare at Juice before she did so. He cut the engine when just in front of her, but did nothing else. His helmet and sunglasses remained in place, as did his grip on the handle bars, though it seemed to get tighter. Katherine simply watched him, her arms crossed now, waiting. She did not seek him out so she was not about to be the one to start the conversation.

"We need to talk," he deadpanned eventually. Normally Katherine would have probably made some comment about how obvious the statement was, but the way he spoke it threw her off. He knew something. This instantly put her on alert. She began to eye him warily.

"I figured that," she replied softly.

Juice gestured to his bike. "Hop on." Katherine did not budge. When he looked over at her, his features softened slightly but it did not make her feel any better about the situation. "Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise."

With another glance at the school, Katherine relented and swung onto his bike, accepting the helmet he finally took off. At least he had shown up now when she was allowed to wear jeans instead of her nice dress pants, not that it made her feel much better. As soon as she strapped the helmet on and, tentatively, wrapped her arms around his waist, they took off, veering right out of the parking lot instead of left. He was not taking her to the clubhouse. She did not know if that made her feel better or worse.

They drove down the street at hurried pace but Katherine was still able to pick out the scenery that passed by. It was the exact same from when her brother graciously drove her to work every day. Juice knew where she lived. When he parked the bike in the driveway of a small one-story with peeling red paint, he confirmed her suspicion.

Katherine moved so fast to get off the bike, she nearly fell to the ground, but she ignored the red in her face, though at this point it was most likely from the anger. She whipped off the helmet and chucked it at Juice, who caught it easily as though he had expected this reaction from her. She stared at him for a long time, breathing hard, trying to come up with the words to lash out at him with.

"You hacked my address!" she shouted finally, backing away from the driveway with her arms in an open gesture of why. Juice sighed, getting off his bike and walking calmly toward her, acting as though she was overreacting to the situation. She was not about to go for that. "Do you guys have no regard for privacy?"

"No, we don't," Juice replied simply, shoving his hands in his pockets. For one moment he looked like the awkward techie she knew but he slowly turned into something else, more determined. "You were right. I did hear your conversation that day…want to tell me how deep you were with the Mayans?"

Katherine gave him a hard look. He knew just how to take her anger and turn it right back on her. She hated him for it.

The emotion finally dispersing, Katherine turned around and walked slowly to the front door, Juice right behind her. She unlocked the door and stepped in, letting him shut it for her. There were a few boxes lying around and the house still had a rather empty feel but she had a few pieces of furniture, including the couch that she pointed to.

"Sit," she ordered, walking toward the kitchen. Opening a cabinet door, she turned back quickly, noting he was still there. "I'm not going anywhere, Juice. I just…I just need some time to think." Juice did not appear very satisfied but he backed off nonetheless. A few moments later she could hear the springs of the couch as he sat down on it.

Katherine sighed, reaching into the cabinet. "And I need a drink."

She pulled out a glass, revealing a bottle of Jack Daniel's. A small smile tugged at her lips as she thought about when she got it.

_Katherine had crammed about as much as she could into the little car of hers. Somehow she still had another bag and herself to fit inside. It would be the one time in her life that she did not complain about her lack of height._

_As she stepped back to admire her work, Katherine noticed someone watching her from across the way. Juice was leaning against his bike, looking like a kid about to be caught doing something wrong. He kept scrutinizing both ends of the street, no doubt searching for any sign of the other Hales._

_Shaking her head, Katherine jogged over to the Prospect. "I didn't expect to see you again, alive that is. You disappeared for a while."_

"_Yeah, well, if Clay knew I was here, I'd disappear permanently. I just thought to, uh…get you something since I didn't show up to your graduation party."_

"_Oh, you didn't have to. I understand why you weren't there. It's rare but there are times when even Gemma can't sway Clay's decision."_

"_Except she was the one who ordered it," Juice replied, taking another glance around the area. Katherine almost laughed. She should have expected as much from the Queen of the Club. _

"_Well, I don't think when she told you to pick me up, she meant-"_

"_Can we just drop it?" Juice burst out, cutting Katherine off. This time she did laugh, enjoying how much he squirmed. "How does this not bother you?"_

_Oh, it did bother her. On the inside, Katherine was trembling like a leaf and praying to God that he did not notice her red tinged skin. How she was keeping up the façade so well was something she could not understand. "A girl has her ways. So, what'd you get me?"_

"_I don't think I want to give it to you now."_

_Katherine smacked his arm. "C'mon, Juan Carlos!"_

_Juice gave her a funny look at the sound of his real name but relented and grabbed a small paper back from the pack on his motorcycle. Katherine eyed it suspiciously, wondering what he could have possibly bought her. She heard the swishing liquid and got a smile on her face. When she pulled the bottle out, she began to laugh again._

"_Are you trying to get me in trouble?" she asked, glancing over the Jack Daniel's label. Juice did nothing but smile._

The sound of shattering glass ripped Katherine from her trip down memory lane. She looked down at the remnants scattered about her feet then looked up to see Juice run halfway into the kitchen before stopping. Katherine caught his gaze for a brief moment before she knelt down and started to pick up the larger pieces. She tried to ignore how badly her hands were shaking.

Juice went to help her and for a moment they sat in silence, picking through glass at a snail's pace. Eventually he grabbed her hand, holding it still. She looked into his deep brown eyes, where she could still see traces of concern, and sighed, leaning back on the cabinet behind her.

"I, uh…I'm just stupid," Katherine started, shaking her head. "I knew…all of them. I think I even had Alvarez's number at some point. I knew who they were and what they did, at least at the end I did. Angel liked to keep me in the dark, though I had enough experience with one club to have some kind of idea what was going on."

She paused, looking to Juice but he said nothing, showed no emotion. "He really wasn't in at first. I stayed with him as a Prospect because I really didn't think he'd make it. He was not that kind of guy back then. And when he did get his cut…I just…I was in over my head and so I just stayed. I had no idea what else to do."

They sat in silence again. Katherine was waiting for a response but Juice was still silent. He was completely unreadable, which scared her, because normally he was an open book. She noticed his hand was still holding hers. It did not grip her tight or threateningly, but in a form of comfort. This gave her some kind of hope that he would do something but after ten minutes, she gave up. Standing, she went to the doorway and leaned against it, facing away from him while he made no movement at all.

Katherine sighed. "How many know about me?"

Again, she got nothing from the man. His silence was slowly chipping away at her. He was probably the only one capable of doing it, besides her brother. She could not just sit there and endure it much longer or she might break down so Katherine began to move toward the door, fully prepared to leave him in her house. She did not care what he did to her stuff.

"Just me," he finally said as her hand brushed over the doorknob. Katherine paused, unsure of how to react to his statement. She heard him stand up now, shuffling his across the wooden floor in the kitchen to the carpet of the living room. "Jax and Chibs are keeping quiet about earlier, Unser and your brother too. No one else knows about the Mayans in Charming."

Katherine released the breath she did not even know she was holding. A wave of relief rushed over her. She was safe, or at least safer. She should have been satisfied with that but her curiosity was getting the better of her again.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I didn't know what would happen," he replied. The sense of safety disappeared in an instant. Something heavy was pressing on her chest and her mind began to run wild with its imagination, showing her things that could have been no matter how unrealistic they were. No, she was not a member of the club but what she had done was basically treason. She visibly shuddered at the thoughts and drew her arms close.

"Why do you still care about what happens to me?" she asked, turning around. "Aren't I the enemy or something?"

Juice looked to the floor, shoving his hands in his pockets again. "I, uh…I can't…call you that. It just doesn't feel right."

The air was thick and still. Suddenly the room seemed a lot smaller and warmer. And there she was alone with the only person that knew everything about her and accepted her, in a sense. It was a comforting feeling, finding someone that tried to look the other way…especially him. It never would have mattered as much if it was not him.

"Thank you," she whispered, getting him to look up again. There was confusion evident in his eyes but she saw so much more. There was a longing there that she did not see before or more likely that she had ignored, too afraid of what it would stir up. At first, it had been because of her family, though she had already spat on them once. But now they were dealing with completely different circumstances, ones far more dangerous than either one of them could have imagined. Strangely the danger made it seem all the more tempting. When she should be pushing him away, she wanted him closer.

Katherine did not that she moved but when she realized it, she was right in front of him, so close she could feel his breath. Juice did not move, did not even appear to be breathing. He just watched her, body tense as he resisted the temptation. Her fingers grazed his arms as her hands made their way to his shoulders. She pushed up on the balls of her feet to reach his height, lips lingering just short of his as though she were afraid to make the first move.

They stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity. When Katherine's eyes looked to his, that was when she felt his mouth crash down upon hers. For one moment, she did not react. Part of her had expected him just walk away. In that brief amount of time, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, lifting her from the ground and pushing her into the wall, knocking down a picture frame somewhere. That was when she woke up, kissing him back with a passion she had not possessed for so long. He began to run his hands through her hair. They felt almost as amazing as his lips.

"Jesus, what are we doing?" Juice gasped as he broke off the kiss. He placed both his hands on either side of her head, allowing her hair to fall to her shoulders. Katherine lowered her hands, bracing herself against the wall so she did not fall. She felt incapable of answering. Her voice was gone. She began to push her hair behind her ear, trying to get the fire in her cheeks to calm. "We can't…we can't do this."

She looked up at him, noting his seriousness but also the hint of regret in his voice. Katherine felt like it was that prom night all over again, but this time it did not take the alcohol to toss all her inhibitions away. They had no outside source to stop them, only themselves, and she was not ready to give up yet.

To say that Juice was surprised when she kissed him again was an understatement. He was so caught off guard that he would have toppled over backwards onto the ground if it were not for the coffee table conveniently placed behind him. The lamp on it, however, did fall to the floor but neither person had a second thought about it.

Katherine's blouse was missing and his cut had fallen to the floor by the time Juice stopped it again. He rested his forehead against hers, holding it in place with his roughly placed hand on the back of her skull. Again they stood still, all silent save for the sounds of their labored breathing.

"Shit," Juice finally said, picking up his cut and heading for the door before he did anything else.

Katherine did not stop him this time. She watched the doorway until she heard the sound of his bike fading into the distance. Sighing, she walked to the wall, leaning her head against it. She pounded it once with her fist. Then again. And again. Every time it was harder and faster until it sounded like she was beating a drum and that the wall would break at any moment. Then she turned around and screamed, sinking down to the floor with her head in her hands, where she cried for the first time in a month.

She should have never come back to Charming.

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Reviews would be much appreciated! Thanks for reading!


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